Broad Street Heroes

Tom Watson had the Claret Jug in his sights as he approached his 2nd shot on the 72nd hole of the 2009 British Open Championship, then everything fell apart.  Watson pulled out an 8 iron, which seemed like the right club, but a strong bounce carried his ball past the green, giving him a tough up and down for par, and the Championship.  Unfortunately for Tom he pushed his par putt past to the right, leaving him with bogey.  This set the stage for a 4 hole aggregate score playoff between Watson and Stewart Cink.

Stewart’s journey to the British Open victory was much different than Watson’s.  Watson, who shot an opening round 65, was in the spotlight all weekend with the pressure mounting as he stayed atop the leaderboard.  Cink waited patiently to make his move.  On the back 9 of his final round, Stewart Cink went -4, including a clutch birdie putt on the 72nd hole to put him into the clubhouse at -2.  When Watson bogeyed the 72nd hole to move into a tie with Cink, many people could see what was happening.

The emotions going through Tom Watson and Stewart Cink were very different heading into the playoff.  On one hand you have 59 year old, 8 time major champion Tom Watson who felt his Championship slip away on the 18th green.  On the other you have Stewart Cink, who had never won a major.  Cink was ready to go out and win, and he seized the opportunity that was given to him.  In the playoff it was obvious that Watson wasn’t able to get over the missed putt at 18, and fatigue got the best of him in the 4 hole playoff.  It isn’t often that a story like this happens, especially in a Major Tournament that didn’t include Tiger Woods for the weekend.

Like Josh Hamilton in the Home Run Derby, we will all remember what Tom Watson did in the 2009 British Open at Turnberry even though he didn’t win.