Anyone who wasn't rooting for Tom Watson yesterday and over the weekend at the British Open doesn't understand the magnitude of what he accomplished. And nearly accomplished.
Watson came within one par in the 18th hole of being the oldest golfer ever to win a major, and he was doing it on the same course where he outdueled Jack Nicklaus 32 years ago. A par on 18 would have given Watson his sixth British Open title, matching Harry Vardon. It would have given him his ninth major, tied for fourth in golf history. It would have made him the oldest winner of a major by 11 years.
It didn't happen — and the difficult part is that it probably won't happen again. Golf is one of few sports where aging does not eliminate skills, but it's much tougher to win as you age. Watson's chance was this year. He was sensational, but the lingering memory may be the look on his face as he approached the final playoff tee.
"He was great, wasn't he?" Nicklaus told the Palm Beach Post while admitting he could not watch the final playoff hole. "I didn't need to see that. I felt so bad for Tom, but the story shouldn't be that he lost; the story should be what he did."
When Watson played so well in the first round, everyone's thought had to be the same: Great effort by the 59-year-old, but it sure won't last. It lasted, for 71 holes.
Nicklaus had texted to Watson after the third round, telling him to win one for the old guys. "Make us cry," Jack wrote.
He didn't mean the way it wound up.
With all due respect to Watson, let's be honest, it really can't be that tough of a course. Jamario Moon came in fifth.
Extraordinarily impressive performance by Watson, though. A wild aberration. I've always hated the senior golfing tour and the has-beens who compete on the regular tour. It's like watching KISS in full costume in 2009, it's a pathetic parody, only they don't seem to realize it or do realize it and just don't care. Anything for a buck. I used to get personally embarrassed watching a former great like Arnold Palmer shoot like an average weekend hack because of the money. In my opinion, the only professional sport where has-beens should be seen in public is professional bowling.