Sunday, July 19, 2009

Bloody well done old man, Tom Watson - British Open runner up

I couldn't resist blogging about golf after Tom Watson held the 2 day lead at the British Open. After Friday's round I offered up the opinion that I believed Watson could contend right through til Sunday with a legitimate shot at winning, and the old guy proved me right.

British Open golf - C'mon Watson, win one for us old warriors

It was all right there for him on the 18th hole, a one shot lead and a perfectly placed tee shot in the middle of the fairway...only needing an 8 or 9 iron to reach the putting surface. Some might suggest he choked, but I don't think so. He went with the 8, and even at 59 years of age there's adrenalin pulsing through the veins. The 8 was too much combined with that adrenalin, and while the ball was near perfectly struck, it went long. I was praying the 8-9 footer he'd left himself for par would go in...and that the championship would be his, but it wasn't to be. Instead I'd have to endure watching him in a 4 hole playoff against Stewart Cink.

I won't bother recapping the 4 playoff holes, if you're a fan of the game, then you saw it. It was painful to watch, not because Watson embarrassed himself or anything...just because I was pulling for him so hard.

The television commentators mentioned a few times over the course of Saturday's and Sunday's rounds that some were questioning golf's legitimacy as a sport, when a 59 year old man can compete for a major championship. That's a load of rot. Golf is unique, and while it is not as physically demanding as almost every other sport....it is not a country stroll either. Players walk about 5 miles each day of a tournament, and while one or two of those marches aren't too difficult for a guy near 60, I'm sure that by the 3rd and 4th day he was getting tired.

Golf is physical, its mental...and even a little bit spiritual. In the final equation Tom Watson had enough of the latter two components, but physically its a lot to ask of a guy in his 60th year.

But he held it together for 4 days, and it took a playoff to beat him...when he shouldn't have even been there by any measure of logic. Well done, see you next year at St. Andrew's Tom.

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