Old Tom turns back
the clock again By dave Shedloski
photo creDit
Having won five British Open championships and very nearly capturing a record- tying sixth two years ago
at an age when a man’s legacy usually
overshadows his ability, Tom Watson
can unmistakably recognize a quality
round of golf.
He was a first-hand witness to
one in the opening round at Royal
St. George’s when English amateur
Tom Lewis, one-third Watson’s age,
shot an impeccable 65 to share the
first-round lead. Having submitted a
72, Watson understood why the media
summoned him.
When he stood before the microphones again on a gloriously sunny
Friday afternoon in Kent, it was to
discuss his own timeless talents on
the labyrinth challenges particular
to the links layouts of the Open rota.
with which they hit the golf ball with
their driver, it’s just a different sound.
Their sound is a whoosh, and mine is
a thud. But thud still works.”
It works because Watson long ago
solved the riddle of his swing and,
just as importantly, embraced the
nuances of links golf. “It took me four
years to start liking the way the game
is played on a links golf course,” said
Watson, who nevertheless won twice
in his first three Open tries. “Some
people never enjoy it. But we have to
play the course, and you have to play
the luck of the bounce. Sometimes the
imagination comes into play big time
in links golf. That’s the beauty of it.”
Speaking of beauty, his ace at
the sixth was the product of a pure
4-iron from 163 yards into southwest-
erly gusts. It took one bounce and
slammed into the cup. He didn’t see it
go in, but he heard the roar. “A one,”
he said to Lewis and Henrik Stenson
as he raised both arms.
It was his 15th hole-in-one, fifth in
PGA Tour competition, and second in
a major, having aced the fourth hole
at Baltusrol in the 1980 U.S. Open. He
gave the ball to his wife, Hilary. The
only other ball he has kept was from
his first hole-in-one, when he was
about 11 years old and playing alone at
“I said, ‘John, I made a hole-
in-one. I want to get this plaque,’
” Watson recalled. “So we go
look at the advertisement, and
John said, ‘Tom, we’ve got a
problem. You have to have a wit-
Highlighted by his first hole-in-one in
Dom Furore
