Simply amazing. Tom Watson has not won a major championship in 23 years. Two months from sixty he will go into tomorrows Open Championship final round with a one shot lead.
If Watson shoots an 80 tomorrow and finishes 10 shots out of the lead it will still be a story that going into the final round of a major championship he lead. It will still be amazing that he stood through three days of grueling golf with men half his age and lead going into the final round. This story is making us forget that Tiger Woods did not make the cut.
Golf is a great game measured by the test of an individuals character to stand alone. I love team sports but professional golf is the ultimate measure of integrity, character and mental toughness. A game where people can and do compete with people half their age.
For a man who has one of the most exceptional golf swings we've ever seen and sits on the verge of being on most people's top ten golfers of all time, we may see his greatest feat tomorrow. A man that dueled with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player and the other greats of the 70's and 80's is now dueling with players that most of us have never heard of like Mathew Goggin and Ross Fisher. Also on the leaderboard are some of the best and most recognizable golfers in the world like Retief Goosen, Stuart Cink, Lee Westwood, Jim Furky and Vijay Singh. Men that are many years younger than the great Tom Watson who I repeat has not won a major championship in well over 20 years and has been eligible for the Senior Tour since the year 2000.
This really hit me today thinking that my dad just turned 60. An age that we often put within a few years of retirement from the working world. However in sports our legends and heroes usually retire much earlier as the wear and tear of athletics puts a toll on our bodies. A man in his 50's has never won a major championship in sports. With today's technology and emphasis on fitness and eating well, athletes can play much longer. However, this would really be something and beyond anyone's imagination if Tom Watson were to win tomorrow.