The Sports Info Business

The will to compete is something that has been inside of me since the day I was born.  It is one of the reasons why I love sports.  As an individual or as part of a team, to compete is to challenge yourself against others.  It started as a kid on a baseball, basketball and football.  It has stayed with me as a grew older.  It has not mattered if it was racquetball, pickleball, backgammon or cribbage, I have always loved the challenge of competing vs. an opponent.

Even though I have not seen too many tournaments this year, I tuned in for the entire 2009 British Open final on Sunday and was puling for Tom Watson to pull off a miracle.  It had been 26 years since Watson captured a major and here he was the leader heading into Sunday.  He battled with professionals 30 years his junior and when it came down to the 18th hole, there he was, still standing and in the lead by a stroke.

I just loved listening to the ovation Watson received as he approached the final hole.  For a 59 year old athlete to receive the attention and respect he so much deserved was such a delight.

While everyone always talks about Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods I was fully vested into pulling for one of the wise old man.

However, it was not meant to be.  Watson’s birdie putt on the 18th for the win went by the hole and left him eight or nine feet shy of the drain.  His putt for the win was tentative and  short.  The bogie on the 18th sent him to a four hole playoff with fellow American Stewart Cink.

Watson immediately went down a stroke after the first playoff hole, a bogie for Watson.  When the pair got to the second hole, #6 and a par three, he shanked the tee shot and was hitting from a blind spot on the side of a hill.  Watson scrambled and came through with a pitch that left him about 10 feet away to save par.  You could feel the crowd as well as the ABC TV announcers exhale as Watson knocked down the putt to save par and stay one stroke back of Cink.

It did not get any easier on the 17th hole as Watson completely missed the fairway off the tee.  It sent volunteers on a hunt in very tall grass, looking for a needle in the haystack, which Watson was lucky to find.  The second-guessing began on the hole  that Watson was beginning to tire and/or had lost energy after missing the winning put on 18th hole to win the championship.  The playoff unofficially ended here as Watson Shot a 7 while Cink clocked a par and went up by four strokes with one to play.

“This ain’t a funeral you know,” Watson joked afterwards.  ”It would have been a hell of a story.  It wasn’t meant to be.  It is a great disappointment.  It tears at your gut.  It is not easy to take.  I put myself in the position to win, but I did not do it on the last hole.  The playoff was one bad shot after another.  I did not give much competition in the playoff.”

When interviewed by ABC following his win, Stewart Cink had this to say about the five time British champion.

“He turned back the clock,” said Cink.  He just did a great job and it was fun watching him all week.  I have such an admiration for Tom.”

Tom Watson may have finished second in the British Open, but he won me over all week long.  He is a true champion.  I will take the wisdom of age over the enthusiasm of youth any day.  Thank you, Tom Watson.

PLAYOFF

Hole              5       6       17      18

Cink              4       3        4       5

Watson         5       3        7      3