Watson captivates by turning back time at Turnberry

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Tom Watson, 59, made a memorable run at the British Open at Turnberry that nearly ended with his sixth Claret Jug.

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He handled the defeat better than the rest of us.

"This ain't a funeral, you know," Tom Watson said with a wan smile as 100 or so reporters filed somberly into the interview room that magical, nearly miraculous, Sunday at Turnberry last July.

He was two months shy of his 60th birthday, playing against men half his age on the wild, windswept course by the Irish Sea where he had staged what now seemed the almost mystical "Duel in the Sun" with Jack Nicklaus in 1977.

And had it not been for a rebellious and recalcitrant 8-foot putt for par on the 72nd hole, Watson would have delivered the most improbable victory of all some 32 years later.

When Watson stabbed at that putt, it was like a knife buried in the hearts of millions around the world. For 71 holes, he had made us believe the impossible was possible. He dared us to dream, as he was dreaming himself.

When that putt didn't even graze the hole, though, hope seemed more like hallucination.

A four-hole playoff ensued, and Watson clearly was spent. Not in terms of energy, as much as emotion and Stewart Cink -- who had birdied the 72nd hole -- played flawlessly in picking up what will always be an underappreciated first major.

"The same Tom Watson that won this tournament in 1977 ... the same guy showed up here this week," Cink said, almost in wonder. "And he just about did it. He beat everybody but one guy. And it was really special."

If there were ever any doubt that golf was a game for the ages, Watson proved it once again at Turnberry as he chased what would have been his sixth Open Championship. Just as a 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus, who had been dismissed as "done, washed up, through" by a columnist prior to the 1986 Masters, did when he won for the sixth time at Augusta National.

"We thought Jack Nicklaus won the moon when he won the Masters at 46," Cink said, marveling at the competitor he'd just beaten. "This is 13 years in front of that."

I was lucky enough to cover Nicklaus' Masters victory, and I remember vividly wondering if I could do it justice when I sat down in front of my computer. The same feeling enveloped me at Turnberry last year, even though the outcome wasn't the same.

The electricity was overwhelming as Watson walked to his drive in the 18th fairway that Sunday holding a one-stroke lead. If sheer will -- his and ours -- could have carried Watson to victory, his name would have been engraved on the Claret Jug for the sixth time, not Cink's making its debut.

Adrenaline, though, carried Watson's 8-iron into the fluffy grass behind the green. His chip kept rolling and rolling, finally stopping far enough away to bring those 59-year-old nerves into play. And although the playoff was never a contest, Watson was able to put the week in perspective.

"It would have been a hell of a story, wouldn't it," Watson said.

And he'll get no arguments there.

Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM's Chief of Correspondents, rarely misses 8-foot putts for par on the 72nd hole.