Veteran Vicente Fernandez begins the defence of his Argentinian Open title tomorrow - a title he admits he had no right to win. Fernandez was 54 when he beat Eduardo Romero in a play-off after the pair had tied on the three-under-par total of 277 at The Jockey Club in Buenos Aires, the only players to finish under par.

Twelve months ago the tournament was only part of the South American circuit, but this year it is co-sanctioned with the European Tour for the first time.

Fernandez admits he has been encouraged to chase a repeat success by the victories of fellow veterans Mark McNulty, Tony Johnstone and Des Smyth already on the tour this season.

"It was very exciting for somebody who was 54 to be in contention for the tournament, it shouldn't happen," admitted Fernandez, who competes on the lucrative US Seniors Tour and won his first European Tour title in the 1975.

"The man I beat was 45 and it shows that the older players can compete longer. For me it's such a thrill for the Argentina Open to be part of the European Tour. I dreamed this would happen for a long time and it's nice to see it.

"It can only get better because people here are very keen to keep it going. We had good crowds for the World Cup here last year and I think we will also have a decent crowd this week. The winning score will be very low I think, fun to play and good to watch."

Romero is playing only his second tournament of the year after suffering a bad leg injury separating two of his many dogs who were fighting.

"I haven't played since the Volvo Masters in November because my dog bit me," said Romero, revealing a number of scars on his left leg. "But I'm really looking forward to playing here." The 46-year-old played in the Tournament Players Championship at Sawgrass last week.

Fellow Argentinian Angel Cabrera is also expected to challenge along with South African Darren Fichardt, who won last week in Brazil, and runners-up Brett Rumford of Australia and Sweden's Richard Johnson.