The legendary Scot "Old Tom" Morris was born in St. Andrews and designed some of the legendary golf courses in the British Isles, like Muirfield and Carnoustie. He won four Open Championships (known by non-golfers on this side of the pond as "The British Open"), including one by a record 13 strokes in 1862. That record for a major championship lasted until it was broken by Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open in 2000 at Pebble Beach.
Golf has a new "Old Tom." Tom Watson, all 59 years of him, and with an artificial hip placed last fall, spent four rounds at the top of the leaderboard of The Open, 34 years after his first Open win in 1975 and 26 years after his last,in 1983. But the steady hands with the putter that younger golfers possess failed him on the 72nd hole of the tournament, and he fell into a playoff with Stewart Cink, 36. Fatigue makes cowards of us all, and Watson had little fuel in the tank during the four hole playoff, and Cink won the playoff wire-to- wire.
Last year Greg Norman, at 53, challenged in The Open, holding the 3rd round lead before fading on Sunday. Watson dueled today with young Aussie Matthew Goggin and England's Lee Westwood. He stared down all of the challenges, keeping his game and his emotions under control. Until the putts at 18.
I've always loved Watson's game, the solid balanced swing mechanics and crisp irons, and particularly his ability to scramble, something I often need to do. In the duel with Jack Nicklaus in the '77 Open, also at Turnberry, Watson finished 65-65 to Nicklaus' 65-66, as the two played head-to-head on the final two days.
Scotland ought to adopt him. The guy sure can handle firm fairways and greens, long rough, chilly temps. Oh, and wind. Lots of wind. Today he found himself one stroke short of history, but his performance is still worth celebrating.
