Tom Watson

Biography

Tom Watson owned links golf. Five Open Championships came on courses where the wind howled and the ball bounced unpredictably - exactly where his creativity and imagination thrived. The 1977 Duel in the Sun at Turnberry, where he and Nicklaus separated from the field by ten shots and battled head-to-head, may be the greatest major ever played. Watson won by one. His late-career nearly moment - leading the 2009 Open at 59 years old before losing in a playoff - proved his game aged better than anyone's. The putting yips eventually sabotaged what might have been even greater numbers, but for a decade from the late 1970s, he was the player who could beat Nicklaus when it mattered.

Career Highlights

• 8 Major championships
• 5 Open Championship titles
• 2 Masters titles
• 39 PGA Tour wins
• Nearly won Open at age 59

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