Tom Watson didn’t draw Tiger-like crowds during Sunday’s final
round of the U.S. Open, but he certainly didn’t go it alone,
either.
There were those admiring fans in the grandstands, each and
every one of them at the Pebble Beach Golf Links giving Watson his
just due with a standing ovation.
There was also Sandy Tatum, the 89-year-old family friend and
Stanford alum who helped design The Links at Spanish Bay, and who
walked all 18 holes right alongside Watson.
And then there was Watson’s son, Michael, who provided a perfect
Father’s Day gift by toting the 60-year-old golfer’s bag over 18
holes on Sunday.
PEBBLE BEACH
Tom Watson didn’t draw Tiger-like crowds during Sunday’s final round of the U.S. Open, but he certainly didn’t go it alone, either.
There were those admiring fans in the grandstands, each and every one of them at the Pebble Beach Golf Links giving Watson his just due with a standing ovation.
There was also Sandy Tatum, the 89-year-old family friend and Stanford alum who helped design The Links at Spanish Bay, and who walked all 18 holes right alongside Watson.
And then there was Watson’s son, Michael, who provided a perfect Father’s Day gift by toting the 60-year-old golfer’s bag over 18 holes on Sunday.
“It’s Father’s Day with your son on the bag, and that’s when it started hitting me,” Watson said. “It’s just a wonderful feeling to be here at Pebble Beach.”
Michael said caddying for his father — on Father’s Day in the final round at the U.S. Open — only made the experience more special, although he admittedly provided fewer recommendations than a normal caddy actually would.
“Ya know, he knows how to navigate this golf course all right,” Michael said. “When he asked my advice, I’d give it to him. But for the most part, I’d just stay out of the way and let him play his game.”
Perhaps sound advice. After all, the player fans affectionately called “Tommy” all day owns the most memorable shot ever at Pebble Beach, and arguably of all time, when he chipped in a downhill 18-footer for birdie on the 17th hole in 1982, and eventually defeated Jack Nicklaus at the U.S. Open.
Sunday’s final round at the Pebble Beach Golf Links may have been the last U.S. Open for Watson, but he certainly managed to share in the experience, as well as the memories.
“There was a lot of sadness today, a lot of sadness,” said Watson, who teared up while walking the 18th fairway on Sunday. “It’s based on a lot of memories, great memories, that I’ve had here, and it very well may be my last time playing Pebble in a championship of this caliber. Probably so.”
Watson finished 72 holes of golf with a 5-over 76 on Sunday, giving him an 11-over score of 295 (78-71-70-76) for the U.S. Open, placing him in 29th.
If he is unable to win the U.S. Senior Open in late July, Watson’s walk to the 18th green on Sunday just may have been his last. And although the final results didn’t mirror his historic run in 1982, the original T.W. to come out of Stanford didn’t disappoint.
He routinely out-drove playing partner Edoardo Molinari from the tee box (Molinari is 31 years his junior), hit nearly 68 percent of his fairways (winner Graeme McDowell hit 66 percent), and played even on the front nine before succumbing to five bogeys on the back.
“The back nine, I didn’t play very well,” Watson said.
He still displayed the same fire as always, though. After coming up short for par on 12, Watson spent the next couple of minutes putting from the tee box on 13, eventually snatching up the golf ball with distaste.
“Even though I shot a couple of good middle rounds,” Watson said, “it was done somewhat with smoke and mirrors and a lot of experience playing at Pebble Beach.”
Like on 18, for instance, where Watson’s past playing experiences at Pebble Beach were on display.
After a perfect drive down the middle of the fairway, Watson wedged out of a greenside bunker to within just a few feet of the pin, and eventually settled for par. He then tossed his golf ball into Stillwater Cove, which is where the memories began for Watson 28 years ago.
“I threw the ball in the ocean after I won the U.S. Open in 1982,” Watson said. “What you do, you give the ocean its due because you never know when it’s gonna take it from you. I’ve hit into that ocean off the tee a few times, and throwing the ball into the ocean was kind of a thank you for not taking it one more time.”
