Tom Watson - sports is also for the young at heart

The British Open golf championship has produced several dramatic final round melt-downs. The two that stand out from recent history are:

Frenchman Jean Van de Velde's disastrous triple bogey on the final hole at Carnoustie in 1999 to hand the title to a relatively unknown Paul Lawrie.

Dane Thomas Bjorn needlessly attacked the pin at the 16th hole at Royal St George in 2003, leaving himself stranded in a deep greenside bunker from where he failed to get out in his first two attempts. The eventual winner, American Ben Curtis, was unknown even in his home country!

Stewart Cink, this year's Open winner, is better known and definitely a more consistent player than either Lawrie or Curtis. It wasn't just Tom Watson's missed 8 footer that enabled him to win. He applied the heat on his older countryman when he courageously birdied the 72nd hole to become the leader in the clubhouse. Lee Westwood should have learned a lesson or two from that.

I still can't get over the off-the-green putt that Watson knocked 8 feet past the pin. Was it bad luck that the perfectly struck rescue approach didn't stop on the green? I think it was Nicklaus, who famously said: There is no good luck or bad luck in golf, just good shots and bad shots.

Putting from the fringe is always dicey if the ball has nestled down in the grass. Solid contact isn't possible. More often than not, the ball will jump up and roll farther than you intended. The two shot swing on the 72nd hole sealed Watson's fate.

Under pressure of defending a final round lead, adrenaline plays a negative role. Where calmness and deliberation is required, one ends up rushing and making a jerky swing. Padraig Harrington's pitch from behind the 16th green squirting into the water under pressure from Tiger's fantastic birdie at the Bridgestone Open at Akron, Ohio is the most recent example.

To be leading a Major Championship at age 59, till the final stroke on the 72nd hole, was an achievement that warmed the cockles of the heart of every elderly person who has ever played any competitive sport. Even for youngsters, it was an example of what a combination of skill and will power can achieve.

Why didn't Tom Watson win? Why couldn't he become a 'Cinderella Man'? Because that is life. Some times, dreams do come true - just look at it from Stewart Cink's perspective!

(Note: Another Tom has written an excellent piece about the tragic end to Watson's run at becoming the oldest person to ever win a Major championship. Read it here.)