Turning Back the Clock at Turnberry

This past weekend I was riveted to my television, even more than usual, as this year's British Open unfolded. For the second year in a row there would be no Tiger sightings on the weekend. Last year, you will recall, Woods stayed home as he was recuperating from major knee surgery. This year he simply stunk it up on Saturday and failed to make the cut. The executives over at ABC/ESPN would have been dropping Titleists in their shorts had it not been for Tom Watson. Watson, you see, at 59 years old, was THE story and saved the ratings and the tournament by making an historic run at the British Open title.

Watson may be the best links golfer of all time. Coming into this year's tournament he had already won 5 British Open titles along with 3 Senior British Open championships. The guy knows how to play these seaside courses. Watson shot an opening round 65 and led after each of the first three rounds. Watson was a bit shaky on Sunday but needed only to par the final hole to win the championship. However, it was not to be. Watson's second shot trickled over the green and he was unable to get up and down for par. The bogey put Watson into a four-hole playoff with Stewart Cink. The air seemed to have left Watson's sails by this time and Cink easily defeated him in the playoff.

Watson's success, as a 59 year-old man, in this year's British Open, led to some interesting discussion. Many feel the fact that a man nearly ready for social security can still play golf at the highest level somehow diminishes golf as a sport. His success, after Greg Norman's unlikely run at the same title last year as a 50+ year-old has made the British Open laughable, in their opinion. How could it truly be golf at its highest level if an old man can compete with the best young players in the world? Could a 59 year-old come back and play in the NBA? No. The NFL? No. Major League Baseball? Of course not. It all goes to show, in their minds, that golf is not a real sport.

I could not disagree more. In fact, I think the fact that Tom Watson could have, indeed should have, won illustrates that golf is a great game and sport. Maybe the best of them all. Golf is as much mental as physical. Tom Watson not only outplayed the younger guys, he out thought them too. He had a plan and executed it to perfection for 71 holes. It shows that on most courses you don't have to be able to hit the ball 350 yards off the tee to complete. Hit it in the fairway, be able to hit a variety of approach shots, avoid the big mistake, and putt well and you have a chance. Tiger has a great mind and laser-like intensity. However, when he can't overpower a golf course with his length off the tee he struggles. It is why he avoids tournaments like the Byron Nelson and the Colonial. These tournaments are played on courses that demand accuracy. They don't play to his strengths so he avoids them. I feel like that there are a lot more of us out there who hit the ball 250-275 yards off the tee than hit the ball 350 yards like Tiger. That is what made it so interesting and so much fun to root for Tom Watson this weekend.

All of us who play the game recreationally can learn a lot from Watson. If we stay in decent shape and think our way around a course we can play this game well for a long time. That is what makes the game of golf so great.