READ TODAY'S STORIES AND E-EDITION SUBSCRIBE |  CONTACT US |  SIGN IN
Sports Extra!



SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

FOR THE RECORD
LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA


Print story only Print story with comments Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest
Watson's Feat Predicted?
Published: 7/23/2009 11:59 AM
Last Modified: 7/23/2009 11:59 AM

The saying in sports is people never remember who finished second.

Or at least they didn’t until the 2009 British Open, when runner-up Tom Watson was the story of the tournament.

Watson, 59, could have become the oldest winner of a major if he had survived a playoff with Stewart Cink. In doing so, Watson came oh-so-close to making a prophet of fellow senior Mike Reid.

Before the 2006 Senior PGA Championship at Oak Tree, many old-timers were asked -- for a Tulsa World story -- if someone on the Champions Tour (alias the senior tour) could ever win a major on the “regular” tour.

Said Reid, “I think there’s a likelihood we may see it in the next five years.”

That means Watson has two more years to make Reid's prediction correct.
Jay Haas said during the 2006 Senior PGA that he doubted a senior player could win a major, hinting that older players lose the “want to” to do the extra work necessary to maintain an edge.

“But, again, you’ll get a guy like Tom Watson,” Haas said. “To me, if he dedicated himself again, if he was healthy, I still think he could win. Even at 60, I think that.”

Watson himself addressed the subject in 2006 and said he believed a senior player will win a major. He said bigger and better athletes are getting into golf because of big money and it’s only a matter of time until one of those bigger, better athletes reaches age 50.

But he almost beat them to the punch.



Reader Comments


To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.


Games People Play

Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

Follow Jimmie Tramel on Twitter

Subscribe to this blog


Archive

 
Jimmie Tramel's Blog Archive:

2/2013  1/2013  12/2012  11/2012  10/2012  9/2012  
8/2012  7/2012  6/2012  5/2012  4/2012  3/2012  
2/2012  1/2012  12/2011  11/2011  10/2011  9/2011  
8/2011  7/2011  6/2011  5/2011  4/2011  3/2011  
2/2011  1/2011  12/2010  11/2010  10/2010  9/2010  
8/2010  7/2010  6/2010  5/2010  4/2010  3/2010  
2/2010  1/2010  12/2009  11/2009  10/2009  9/2009  
8/2009  7/2009  6/2009  5/2009  4/2009  3/2009  
2/2009  1/2009  12/2008  11/2008  10/2008  9/2008  
8/2008  7/2008  6/2008  5/2008  4/2008  3/2008  
2/2008  1/2008  12/2007  11/2007  10/2007  9/2007  
8/2007  7/2007  6/2007  5/2007  4/2007  3/2007  
2/2007  1/2007  12/2006  11/2006  10/2006  9/2006  
8/2006  





Home | Contact Us | Search | Subscribe | Customer Service | About | Advertise
Copyright © 2013, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.