Tom Watson’s three-shot lead in the Senior British Open was in peril and memories of his back-nine collapse at the U.S. Senior Open three weeks ago came flooding back.
But that was in 90-degree heat at Whistling Straits. Sunday he was at cold and blustery Muirfield in Gullane, Scotland, where the five-time British Open winner and master of Scottish links courses is at home.
Watson fired his tee shot into a fairway bunker at the last hole and took two to get out of the sand, but he survived a double bogey to win his third Senior British Open in five years.
“This has been a very serene week for me,” he said. “The weather was right up my alley, good blowy conditions, a little rain here and there. The beauty of the place, I feel very comfortable.”
Standing in the sand after his wayward tee shot, Watson took a moment to compose himself.
“I thought, ‘What am I doing in here? Let’s get the job done,”‘ he said.
Watson eventually made it out of the sand, but missed the green with his fourth shot. With playing partners Mark O’Meara and Stewart Ginn back in contention, Watson got his fifth, a putt from off the green, to within 3 feet of the flag and made that putt for a 73 and yet another title on Scottish links courses. Watson won the 1980 British Open on this course.
“It’s important to get it done when you have to,” Watson said. “It didn’t look like it at 18, but I did put it in the wrong place (off the tee). It was a stupid shot.”
Watson, who also won two Masters titles and one U.S. Open, captured his fifth senior major with an even-par total of 284 to earn $324,531. He finished one ahead of O’Meara (72) and Ginn (75).
Watson, who won this tournament at Turnberry in 2003 and Royal Aberdeen two years ago, made it five American victories in a row after triumphs by Peter Oakley in 2004 and Loren Roberts last year.
Seven of Watson’s eight triumphs in Britain have been on Scottish links courses and next year’s Senior British Open is at another, Troon, where he won the Open in 1982.
Ginn, who won the Senior Players Championship on the Champions Tour five years ago for his only major, went into the final round leading by one at 3-under, but fell apart with five bogeys in a row from the turn as he slumped from 3-under to 1-over.
PGA: Jim Furyk successfully defended his Canadian Open title, taking the lead with a hole-in-one on the 209-yard fourth hole and finishing with a 7-under 64 for a two-stroke victory over Vijay Singh in Markham, Ontario.
The winner last year at traditional Hamilton Golf and Country Club, Furyk had a 16-under 268 total on Angus Glen’s links-style North Course. He earned $900,000 for his 13th PGA Tour victory and first since last September in Ancaster.
Three strokes behind Singh after the third round, Furyk birdied two of the first three holes – holing a 35-foot putt on the par-5 first and a 9-footer on the par-4 third – before moving ahead at 13-under with his third career ace.
LPGA: Natalie Gulbis won the Evian Masters with a birdie on the first hole of a sudden- death playoff with Jang Jeong of South Korea in Evian-les-bains, France.
It was the first LPGA Tour win for the 24-year-old American.
Gulbis and Jang had finished the fourth round tied at 4-under 284. Gulbis had a final-round 70, and Jang birdied the last hole to finish with a 72.
Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa was one shot behind and tied for third place with Juli Inkster and South Korea’s Shin Ji-yai. Ochoa had six birdies in her closing 68, but dropped a shot at the last.
European PGA: Andres Romero won his first title on the PGA European Tour at the Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship in Alveslohe, Germany, a week after his near miss at the British Open.
The 26-year-old Argentine, a surprise third at the British Open, battled a steady downpour to produce a final-round 2-under 70 and finish at 269.
