When the Royal & Ancient first decided to lower the age limit to 60 for winners of golf's oldest championship, they couldn't have foreseen the performance that a 59 year old, 5 time former winner, Tom Watson, could put on to be in a position to lead the tournament in the final days and come within an 8 foot putt of winning. Prior to the British Open, more people should have noticed how reverently Watson had spoken about his affection for Turnberry where he had won 32 years earlier in the 'Duel in the Sun' against Jack Nicklaus. He explained why he is able to compete on links courses that require shots to be struck pure, and not necessarily with tremendous power. Watson ended up beating everybody but one guy in the field. Other, younger, former champions didn't fare as well, either. Tiger Woods didn't even make the cut on Friday, and the defending champion, Padraig Harrington, never really challenged the leaders, finishing 14 shots off the pace. Stewart Cink was too young to remember Watson's victory at Turnberry in '77, although he played a practice round with him at this year's Masters, and was impressed by how cleanly Watson hit the ball. Playing against him when it counted was even more impressive. The sign on the yellow scoreboard still hadn't come down as of yesterday, a somber reminder of who didn't win the British Open, as it read, "Well played Stewart. See you at St. Andrews in 2010." Maybe, Tom Watson will go to St. Andrews next year for a farewell party. Or maybe, he'll go there and put on another spectacular show for the ages. By: Frank Bilotta
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