A win for the ages

Watson becomes oldest Colonial winner

May 24, 1998

By BRAD TOWNSEND / The Dallas Morning News

Editors' note: The following appeared in the final May 25, 1998 edition of The Dallas Morning News.

FORT WORTH – Tom Watson has won eight major championships. He is the 11th-winningest player in PGA Tour history. He has played in four Ryder Cups and was winning captain in 1993.

But there was Watson on Sunday, shedding tears on the 18th green after winning the 52nd MasterCard Colonial.

It wasn't merely the victory that moved him. It was the place in which he did it. It was the way he did it. It was the point in his career at which it happened.

At the age of 48 years, eight months and 20 days, Watson supplanted Colonial's most legendary figure, Ben Hogan, as the tournament's oldest winner. He also became the oldest winner of any PGA Tour event since 48-year, 10-month-old Hale Irwin won the MCI Classic in 1994.

Watson won by playing flawless golf on a breezy, hazy day. He shot a bogey-free 66 to beat 28-year-old Jim Furyk by two shots. His 15-under total was one shot off the tournament record.

MICHAEL AINSWORTH / DMN

Tom Watson's difficult shot out of a fairway bunker on No. 9 helped him secure his final victory on the PGA Tour.

"Winning at my age is a rarity," Watson said. "I didn't know whether I was going to win another tournament on the tour again or not."

PGA Tour victory No. 34 was, indeed, a long time coming for Watson, whose most recent victory was the 1996 Memorial Tournament. And, until Sunday, Watson had earned only two wins since 1984, the year, as he put it, "it basically shut off."

But that wasn't an old Watson playing Colonial this week. It was the Watson of old. He had no back-nine bogeys all week. And he was particularly solid Sunday, hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation.

"I didn't beat myself today," said Furyk, who had five birdies and three bogeys Sunday. "I just got outplayed.

"On the back side, realistically, he put the ball in the fairway and hit for the middle of the green on every hole," Furyk said. "And none of us put any pressure on him."

Dallas' Harrison Frazar, who led or co-led after each of the first three rounds, was wild off the tee, missing nine of 14 fairways, and never a serious factor. He finished five shots back in fourth, one shot behind Jeff Sluman.

Watson led or co-led from the third hole Sunday. But, for the second consecutive year, the tournament's pivotal hole was the 391-yard, par-4 ninth.

Last year it was Tiger Woods, co-leading with David Ogrin, hitting into the water in front of the ninth green and taking double-bogey.

On Sunday, Watson and Furyk came to No. 9 co-leading at 13-under. Furyk hit his drive to the middle of the fairway. Watson pulled his drive into the left-hand fairway bunker.

But Furyk, as he did much of the day, appeared indecisive about the approach shot. He backed away once, twice, then drew a gasp from the gallery when he backed away a third time. When he finally hit, his ball missed the green to the right.

Watson, hitting second, had a far bigger predicament. In order to hit the shot, he had to stand in the grass above the bunker, with the ball more than a foot below his feet. Of course, with all of Furyk's fidgeting, Watson had plenty of time to consider his options.

"My caddie Bruce [Edwards] said, "It's a hard 8 [iron]," Watson said. "I was thinking an easy 8. I told myself, "I think he's right, it's a good, firm 8.' "

Watson stooped over the shot, swung and, as he put it, "hit it flush." With the pin on the right, Watson said he aimed toward the middle of the green. But because of the angle of his swing, the ball naturally curved from left to right. It cleared the water by 10 yards and stopped 10 feet below the hole.

Watson raised his club triumphantly as the gallery reacted. Minutes later, he pumped his fist after making the birdie putt. That putt, coupled with Furyk's par, gave Watson the lead for good.

"That was the shot," Watson said of the 8-iron approach. "That was the shot of the tournament for me."

Watson's lead grew to two when Furyk bogeyed No. 10, after hitting his approach into the left-hand bunker. The lead swelled to three when Furyk hit left of the green on No. 15 and missed a 20-foot par putt.

But it was Watson's 8-iron on No. 9 that will go down in Colonial history. And, given the circumstances, Watson said the shot on No. 9 "definitely ranks right up there" among his more memorable career shots.

Watson also cited his chip-in on No. 17 at Pebble Beach to win the '82 U.S. Open; his 2-iron approach to within 15 feet of the hole to clinch the '83 British Open at Birkdale; and the 15th hole in '77 at Turnberry, where he sank a 60-foot putt to tie Jack Nicklaus – and eventually win.

Watson knew it better than anyone Sunday. This moment, this victory at Colonial, could well be his last.

"I'm seriously thinking of the Senior Tour," Watson said. "The Senior Tour is a reality for Tom Watson. You'll probably ask, "If you're playing like this on this tour, why quit and go to the Senior Tour?' Right now, that's a darn good question."