Saturday 18 July 2015 23:13, UK
Rich Beem pays a glowing tribute to Tom Watson after the five-time champion played his final 18 holes in an Open Championship, while the R&A come under fire for scheduling a Monday finish.
Tom Watson has brought down the curtain on his illustrious Open Championship career, and there is no doubt he will long be regarded as a tremendous champion. He was really the first American who came over and had any sort of lasting success in the tournament. Obviously Jack Nicklaus had his, and Tiger has more recently, but Tom is a five-time Open champion.
Tom is one of those guys who was a grinder. He was a streaky putter in his early years but he always seemed to embrace links golf. He liked to hit it low and run his ball onto the green when he had to, and he did what more players are doing now – embracing the elements and enjoying links golf.
Players can be a little too pampered in the US, it’s a bit different over here and you have to embrace it, which Tom did. His most memorable performance was, of course, his “Duel in the Sun” with Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry in 1977, when the wind was up a little bit but the scoring was incredible.
When Tom first came over he clearly fell in love with the style of golf you need for a links course, and he looked forward to coming back to the Open every year. I know I certainly did. Each venue presents a new set of challenges, some courses suited me better than others, but Tom was able to feel comfortable on all of them.
Great setting
He got an awesome reception coming down 18 on Friday night, the stands may have been a little empty but the roadside section was packed with fans. I think the setting, with darkness closing in and the lights on in the old clubhouse, was great.
It was almost 10pm, but I don’t think it detracted from the moment, and well done to the R&A for allowing his group to continue and complete their rounds. If they hadn’t, look at what would have happened on Saturday! I’m sure he’s glad he got it done, and the Open will miss him.
But I feel the R&A have got it wrong with their decision to play the final round on Monday. They used to play 36 holes in one day at other majors, but television can dictate the schedules sometimes. I’d rather have seen them get the players ready for 36 holes on Sunday, get them out in threeballs and let them at it.
Of course it would be a long day, and the R&A would have run the risk of being criticised. If that was the case, then shame on the players and fans because every one of these players is fit and healthy. They hit the gym hard and work out regularly, so they must be in shape to play more than 18 holes.
Two rounds on Sunday no problem
I think every effort should have been made to finish on Sunday. Personally, I think the R&A missed the boat on this one. There is plenty of daylight, so get them out at 6.30am, get the last guys in at noon, and you’ve still got over nine hours left. That is not asking too much.
Saturday was severely disrupted by strong winds, and play was held up for over 10 hours. The worst I’ve ever played in was by far at St Andrews in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
We started out in short-sleeved shirts, and by the time we reached 16 I had several layers on, including all my waterproof gear, and I resorted to shielding myself from the howling wind with my umbrella.
I remember on 16 I almost hit it out of bounds to the left of the third fairway! I started it at the bunkers and tried to hold the ball against the wind, but I hooked it. My ball bounced and rolled and kept rolling until it finished barely five yards from the out-of-bounds fence.
That was by far the worst weather I’ve ever played in, but I was lucky that, in my four appearances in the Open Championship, I never really ran into any seriously ugly weather.
