The lush green outfields, with charming players fighting it out under the shining sun, wearing bright T-shirts and stylish trousers – is how one can summarize the scene of watching a golf match. The sport is one that is often associated as “being for the rich” and a rich sport in general, offering one of the highest salaries to a sportsperson, should they opt for a full time career in it.
In the last few years, golf has been synonymous with the name of Tiger Woods, the man widely acclaimed around the world as one of the finest that ever played the sport.
Woods is currently aged 40 and therefore a shocking fact that might interest you is that he plays alongside an absolute legend of the sport, whose golf professional career itself has spanned for over more than 40 years, the man is Tom Watson.
Watson was at the peak of his career during the 1970’s-80’s, winning eight major champions but that is not to say that his career post this era has been anything short of exemplary. Even at 60 years of age in 2009, he could be seen leading much of the championship tournaments, however couldn’t manage to win the championships losing in a four-hole playoff.
In his absolute illustrious career, Watson has managed to swipe-off 8 major championships, including five open championships, two masters title and one US Open title.
The only major tournament that he hasn’t to include in his tally is the PGA championship therefore he’s excluded from the “career grand slam” group of elite golf players.
Watson also represented USA in the Ryders Cup and it was under his leading that America won the 1993 Ryders Cup. 20 years later, he was again named captain of America’s team to Ryder’s cup in Scotland.
Watson is one of the few golf players that have bluntly stated that too much money in golf can have a negative impact on budding golf players. In an interview in 2010, he said “I do believe that, in certain instances, players can be corrupted by the amount of money they make. I think too much money corrupts the desire and for some players it’s about how much money they make rather than just trying to be the best player they can.”
Watson grew up in Kansas City and was introduced to the sport of golf by his father. Watson is a graduate from the Stanford University and later pursued golf as a profession in 1971. Watson was inducted in the Golf hall of fame in the year 1988.
Tom Watson ended his masters career after appearing in 43 masters tournaments.
Watson was seen visible emotional during the last half an hour, after all it wouldn’t have been easy to walk into the dawn after a career with dusk all throughout, spanning for around 44 years – more than the age of his competitors.
It’s fair to state that sportspersons like Watson are a rare breed and he’ll be sorely missed on the golf circuit but the mark he has left on the sport shall truly guide the golfers coming through the ranks to give them an idea into what it takes to have a career in sports span for more than 40 years without any sort of remote controversy attached to it.