Does the British Open runner-up have some gas left in the tank?
With his near-victory in the British Open, 59-year-old Tom Watson has given the Champions Tour a credibility boost. For the over-50 circuit, the synergy couldn’t be better as Watson remains in the British Isles this week for the Senior Open Championship.
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Watson has done his best to bring visibility to the event, better known as the British Senior, winning in each of the last three odd-numbered years. With a victory in 2009, Watson would not only become the oldest winner of a Champions Tour major and the second man to win four British Seniors, he would further enhance his reputation as the best links golfer in history.
Just one problem: This British Senior will not be played on a links course. Sunningdale Golf Club, in the suburbs of London, is full of trees and with no ocean in sight.
After seeing his perfectly-struck 8-iron roll through the green on the 72nd hole at seaside Turnberry, leading to his demise Sunday, perhaps Watson welcomes a parkland course.
“I guess they have had some periods of rain here and the golf course has softened up,” said Watson, “I’ve had two good days to get adjusted to the golf course.”
This has been a whirlwind tour for Watson — seven rounds in seven days, emotional peaks and valleys, tears of joy and heartbreak, and a flood of messages from all over the world, none more meaningful than those he received from soldiers in Iraq and Iran.
“Many have contacted me and said, “Congratulations, and oh, by the way, when you’re in a neck-high bunker and you have a 4-footer, just remember, it’s just a game,'” said Watson, who has visited wounded troops at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval hospitals and participated in a USO tour of Iraq.
Sunday night, after his playoff loss to Stewart Cink, Watson also heard from the man he has battled most on the golf course, Jack Nicklauus.
“He said, ‘Watson, that’s the first time I ever sat down and watched all 18 holes of any golf tournament, any golf tournament,'” said Watson. “He said he couldn’t have played the 18th hole any better. That soothed me a little bit.”
