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Articles>
The Tom Watson Effect
July 21, 2009
Tom Watson was stood on the 17th tee at Turnberry, the 3rd play-off hole of The Open, having just played a miracle shot to stay within one shot of Stuart Cink when three reporters ran across the fairway from right to left thus setting in motion a chain reaction which resulted in a collapse:
Standing on the 18th tee had a particular feeling for Tom Watson having just birdied the 17th hole at The 2009 Open, Turnberry. Until this moment the millions of spectators and listeners had had other focuses for their attention...with a small and caring side interest in the endeavours of a sporting icon.
All week Tom had led the field from the front. From the moment he had finished the first round on the Thursday the media were in a building frenzy...a series of what if’s had been speculated and voiced but with little real seriousness because the impossible was only a dream or a wish at this point..
As the Open unfolded Tom W. Led the field after day two... but we’d seen this before with Greig Norman in 2008. By the end of day three many were excited at the thought of “what if he could do it” tempered with “he probably wont have the stamina at this age”, after all in what sport around the world is it possible for a 59 YEAR old able to compete on the same stage as professionals much younger, stronger and fitter and go on to win.
OK he has the pedigree having won 8 majors before including 5 Opens but the last one of them was The Open in 1983....but the Big T has won here before and there is something about good memories which we can recall vividly that all of us know can make a difference. Tom had won in 1977 at this very venue battling Jack Nicklaus and winning with a birdie on the last hole. But Two hip replacements and many years later...at the moment Tom stood on that 18th tee in 2009 something changed.
Comentators around the world were already buzzing about the possibility of the greatest sporting achievement ever to occur...then, as the crowd at Turnberry watched, Lee Westwood bogied the 18th leaving Tom one stroke in the lead of Stuart Cink and the murmurs grew stronger .“All he needs to do is par the last”...”If he can get a decent drive in...” Will the pressure get to him”...”What if he can do it” “Fingers crossed”. The last group on the course was now being watched by the world and the intimacy of the 30,000+ crowd grew stronger with everyone trying to get to a spot where they could see ...those who couldn’t see were listening on their radios or positioned themselves beside another with a radio in order to be a part of this history...
The focus of commentators, viewers, listeners and the intensity of the well wishing crowd was now on Tom Watson – Goggin, his playing partner was all but forgotten.
From my stand point I couldn’t see the 18th tee when suddenly the voice from the spectator beside me – informed by his radio – called out loud “It’s coming, he’s hit...they reckon it’s ok”...then the ball lands past the dangerous bunker that had taken Westwood’s ball. It was probably the furthest drive on that hole we had seen for an hour. Watching it roll towards the side of the fairway you can actually feel the crowd hold it’s breath willing the ball to stop before it reaches the rough...it does. Followed by an overwhelming roar which rippled all the way back to the tee and up to the green.
Tom Watson had done exactly what was necessary and put the ball in a place where he could make a dream come true but there was work for him still to do. He had been here before many times and he knew what to do...
As he walked down the faiway it seemed that every member of the crowd knew him personally calling out his name...adding to his mental burden by wishing him well. “If he does it he’s a hero and if he doesn’t...”
Watching him walk some noticed that the steps he was taking were just a little quicker with a hint of leaning forwards...like Lee Westwood as he had walked up to the bunker moments before. The crowd settled into a humming of speculation and expectation and as Tom addressed the ball the silence became louder. As he hit the perfect shot the crowd watched in quiet as they calculated its flight...the roar started slowly before becoming a crescendo as the ball landed before the green and they knew it was going to be close...the volume increased ever more with the expectation of a finishing birdie...then died suddenly and awfully and sinkingly as the ball just kept on rolling by...and then rolled off the edge of the green.
Imagine Tom’s mind at that moment... a moment when he needed to be clear and quiet minded. You have just hit a terrific shot under the immense pressure of the expectations of those around you...you cleared your mind, focussed and executed what appeared to all to be the right shot...knowing that it would all soon be over...and then three putts later you were in a play off which was starting right away.
Now the truth of it is...
One man is standing on the 5th tee (the first of the play off holes), his previous shot being an amazing long and beautifully executed birdie putt , having had the chance to mull the next four holes over in his mind clearing any doubts and majoring on the good feeling of that putt...
The other has heard and felt not only his disappointment of the way the last hole played out but also has heard and felt the emotions of all those watching just him. He has one chance and that is to get his mind in the right place quickly enough for it to make a difference. As you will see in this book there are ways to do it but before we go deep Tom had to dig deep too...
Relief to both players as they drove into the fairway... then emotions bubble up as each one hits their approach shot into a greenside bunker...Cink has a relatively easy lie when he reaches it and on the back of good feeling may sense a reasonable shot coming and as Watson walks to his ball the quiet of the crowd signals what he sees...the ball is up against the steep greenside bank of his bunker. Decisions have to be made...it’s a four hole play-off...get it out of the bunker and give yourself a chance to save par...ignore the second piece of bad luck in two holes...shake off the tiredness and clear the mind...the ball comes out but jeeze that’s a long putt compared to his. Cink par, Watson +1.
One man standing on the 6th tee, his previous shot being a good putt to save par and scrape into a one shot lead...”get the next tee shot onto the par three green...that’s all”
The other received groans from an ever hopefull but energy waining crowd when he missed to go behind...”but one behind is ok in a four hole play-off and gives time to start to get the mind to try to clear...”
Cink lands his ball on the green, far right, still some way away from the flag...
Then as the crowd watch... Tom’s ball sails way right, way right, right of the green, right of the bank beside the green and right down to the bottom of an eighty foot bank with a blind shot back up to the green.
“must get this up and down...must get par and hope it turns the tide on Cink...must clear the mind...shake off this feeling...the ball goes up...the roar goes up and Watson races to the top of the bank and given time pars the hole to stay +1 to Cink’s par.
One man standing on the 17th tee (3rd play-off hole)...he’s just seen Watson come back from the dead and only has a one shot lead...knowing that Tom has birdied this hole over and over again not just in this tournament but also when he beat Big Jack in ’77...just get it on the fairway...relief as he does
The other standing on the tee..."got away with that... mind just starting to get clearer...focus...ignore any distractions. What are those three photographers doing running across the fairway from right to left, where are they going, don’t they know how hard I am trying...Oh no, where is that ball going *****, *****,****"
And the rest of it is history
Cink wins by six shots, a deserved victory under his own pressure circumstances and Tom Watson might feel despondent but the truth of it is he is a hero and a superstar and the real story wasn’t whether or not he won - the real story was that he showed it can be done!
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