0

Tom Watson Says Farewell

Tom Watson said goodbye to one of the loves of his life today as the 65 year old said farewell to St. Andrews and the Open Championship.

Watson waved to fans from the Swilcan Bridge just as former greats Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus had in their send offs from The Open.

tom watson bridge

On a very long day that started with a three hour rain delay Watson was determined to say his goodbyes today. Certainly he would have preferred a late Sunday walk down the eighteenth fairway but with rounds of 76-80 he had no chance of making the cut.

With the sun having set and darkness closing in Watson putted out to end his round then waved and bowed to the crowd that had remained waiting in the darkness to honor their five time Open Champion.

Watson’s legend in links golf was forged with five victories including his Duel in the Sun with Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry in 1977. He took to links golf and the Scots took to him.

Four of his five Opens were won in Scotland and he became known as ‘Our Tom’ by the Scots that loved him and his scrappy, links game.

Watson has fashioned a reputation as an old school, by the book, traditionalist, especially on the course. He earned the respect from both fans and competitors for the way he played, his sportsmanship and his penchant for honoring the game and those in it.

Did he have some warts? Certainly, we all do but and sometimes living life in the public eye isn’t that easy.

But Watson cherished his friendship with Nicklaus and wept like a baby when Jack made his farewell at St. Andrews. He also loved his longtime caddie, Bruce Edwards who died of ALS. Watson now spends much of his time fundraising for ALS research.

As much as Watson will be remembered as one of the great of all time in golf another generation will remember him for the one that got away. Watson’s near miss at the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry introduced him to those Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy fans.

But for a poor bounce Watson would have won his sixth Open at an age when most golfers are moving up a tee box.

In my opinion if that par putt had fallen he would have crafted the greatest win in the history of golf. Instead he was left with what Tom Rinaldi called “the most memorable defeat in all sport in the last fifty years.”

Watson greeted the media immediately after wards with the line “this ain’t a funeral you know” as he opened his Turnberry press conference.

The same could be said for today…it’s not a funeral, just a well earned farewell.

Share

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.