Watson, Caddie Return To The Fold

By Brendan Tierney, USGA

Toledo, Ohio – Two weeks after thrilling fans by shooting a magical first-round 65 at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club and becoming the oldest player to ever hold the lead at the U.S. Open, Tom Watson returns to the golf course this week, attempting to add the U.S. Senior Open to his long list of major wins.

"It’s the premier senior event on the tour," said Watson, the 1982 U.S. Open champion. "The Senior PGA and the Senior U.S. Open are the two tournaments that I want to win the most. I won one (Senior PGA in 2001) and I hope to win the other."

Topping his 65 from Olympia Fields this week at the venerable Inverness Club might be asking a lot. But that round certainly provided Watson’s longtime caddie, Bruce Edwards, a forum to help raise awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

Surviving the cut also gave Watson plenty of confidence heading into this year’s Senior Open, an event he nearly captured a year ago.

"[The round] confirmed that I had a little bit in me, and it was a great opportunity to talk about my caddie Bruce," said Watson, who is assisting Edwards with his medical bills. "It gave me the opportunity to make everybody realize some of the problems in funding ALS. The response has been overwhelming as far as the increase in communications."

Currently, there are no cures for the disease, which does receive as much publicity as cancer or AIDS. Watson said there are 30,000 diagnosed cases of ALS and the estimate is that some 250,000 will be afflicted by it in the next 20 years.

PGA Tour pro Jeff Julian also suffers from ALS. Edwards struggles with his stamina and slurs his speech, but he continues to be by Watson’s side. The USGA even offered Edwards a cart at the U.S. Open, but he declined, choosing instead to walk the fairways with the eight-time major champion.

Watson and Edwards first met 30 years ago, but he was only on the bag for one of Watson’s major wins – the 1982 U.S. Open that featured his magical chip-in from just off the 17th green. Edwards did not travel to the British Open and back then -- players had to use Augusta National caddies at the Masters.

"Tom is turning over every stone he can find to help Bruce to find some research or something that is experimental to help," said two-time Senior Open champion Jack Nicklaus, who played a practice round with Watson on Tuesday.

His caddie’s illness, along with the ups and downs that come with playing in the U.S. Open, made it an emotional week for Watson. It was also part of a tough stretch of golf where he played the Senior PGA Championship outside of Philadelphia and the U.S. Open before arriving at Inverness this week. But the 53 year old who keeps himself in good physical condition doesn’t appear worn down nor will he use it as an excuse.

"I don’t think fatigue will play a factor at all," said Watson, "but if you hit the ball in the rough a bunch of times, you get fatigued very quickly."

It will take patience to succeed at Inverness, a course that has consistently challenged the world’s best players. In fact, none of the four winners of the U.S. Opens held here broke par for 72 holes. Players have already talked about the difficult set-up awaiting them for this year’s Senior Open, the sixth USGA championship to be waged at Inverness.

Watson has appeared in three Senior Opens, including last year’s dramatic five-hole playoff loss to Don Pooley.

"I never looked back," he said about his second-place finish, "It was a great contest, an opportunity lost. It was a thrilling event … I’m not looking at it in any get-even or revenge mode this week."

A win this week would more than make up for that tough loss. Of course, a victory this week would earn Watson another trip to the U.S. Open since the Senior Open champion gains an exemption.

"Winning here would be something very special," said Watson, who is scheduled to play at this year’s British Open and Senior British Open. "Maybe more special than anything I’ve ever done with [Bruce]."

Brendan Tierney is a second-year Fellow with the USGA Foundation. E-mail him at btierney@usga.org with questions or comments.