British Open leader, 5-time winner would be oldest major champ at 59.
Article Source: NBC Sports
from:NBC SportsWill Watson make major history today?
Seeded on Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:32 AM EDT (NBC Sports)
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This is major ammunition for those who say that golf is not a sport. Ever see anyone win Wimbledon at 59? How about a Super Bowl ring? Of course not - tennis and football are sports.
A few years back, someone tried to start a Senior pro baseball league. The players (former major leaguers, mostly in their 40's) looked slow and pathetic and the league folded quickly. Seniors golf works because old people playing golf looks exactly like young people playing golf. Because it is a sport in the way that bowling and darts are sports (i.e., NOT).
let us really hope so. Lets go Old Tom !
Nonsense. Some sports require speed or strength, some just require skill.
Is sailing a sport? Car racing? Archery? Dressage? Shooting?
I hope Tom does it, the odds are against him, but his heart has always belonged to the Open.
Depends on what kind of sailing. 12-meter sailing requires strength and stamina.
Car racing - such as NASCAR or Indy - are sports, and physical fitness is a must, because of the G-forces those things put out (ever go into a turn at 185 mph?), and some races are as long as 600 miles. Drag racing, not so much.
Archery, no. Dressage, yes (strength and stamina required). Shooting, no.
Golf is a form of recreation, like pool, ping pong, or shuffleboard. It is a very difficult form of recreation to master, but that still doesn't make it a sport.
A group of 50 year old sailors can sail a 12 meter, most people can run 100 yards, swim a couple of laps, play a bit of baseball or football, ride a horse or drive a car. They just can't win or play well.
The dedication to excel in any of them makes them a sport and demands much more work than we ever see on TV. Golf is not a walk in the park for anyone trying to win, it requires thousands of hours of work, strength and stamina.
Rather than spend time commenting on PK's foolishness, I would rather comment on the article and Tom Watson. Tom is an amazing athlete. He is an even more amazing person. Even as great as Tiger is, he could learn something from Tom about being a gentleman on the course. No one can criticize Tiger’s play, but many wish he could control his emotional F bomb outbursts on nearly every shot he hits that he doesn’t like.
Having said that, Tom may be too much a gentleman. I don’t know who his caddy was, or if it was his regular caddie. If it is, Tom’s first words in the press conference should have been, “I want you all to know I fired my caddy at the end of the round.” I have never carried the sticks for a living, but I cannot believe that any pro caddy could have let their man hit any club that might have put him over the green when that was where the trouble was. As pumped up as Tom was, playing on pure adrenaline, his caddie should have insisted he hit two clubs less than normal.
What a really great tournament this was. What a great tournament it could have been with the right club at the 72nd hole. Tom’s incredible, super human achievement will be talked about for a long time. But it could have been the lead story for every Open for as long as golf is played.
Some sports require more mental ability than others. Those that require a lot of mental ability allow the possibility for the brain to compensate for waning physical strength and stamina. What was proved today was just how important the mental side of golf really is. The 59 year old body of Tom Watson was superbly augmented by experience and thinking. Is it any surprise that total idiots like this PK moron would have difficulty grasping such concepts?
What the hell does Tom's age have to do with it? If he has the skill and talent, regardless of age, then he can compete. All the 'hype' about his age gets old! The guy can play regardless!
Cink 'spoils' Watson fairy tale? Gosh, the guy is 59 years old and came in SECOND in the British freaking Open. I hope that I'll be able to shoot one round of pure bogey golf [which is a 90] by the time I am 59, much less winning a major.
I am 63, and I can shoot bogie golf. On a good day. I have some friends that are around my age and they can shoot par. Or even a little better on a good day. I agree with your point completely however. What Watson did he did at the Open. And that has never been done by a 59 year old in the history of the world. That is a fairy tale that came true.