By Tim Schmitt<br><a href="mailto:tschmitt@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Tim</a>
May 06, 2008 11:57 pm
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Tears welled in Denis Watson’s eyes. Big ones. The native of Zimbabwe said it was the first time he’d seen the montage from his 2007 Senior PGA Championship win — the culmination of a comeback that was nearly two decades in the making — and he had trouble sharing thoughts with reporters. Watson fidgeted with a water bottle, stalling between sentences so he could keep his composure while trying to relive the victory at Kiawah Island.
To be honest, I didn’t recognize him when he was working on the putting green prior to Monday’s media day — I must have missed Watson’s big breakthrough at last year’s major. But watching him speak in the hallowed halls of Oak Hill, just after the old course played pinball with my Pro-V, was a perfect way to prepare for this year’s Senior PGA event. The tournament will be held the week of May 19th, and is just a little over an hour’s drive from downtown Niagara Falls.
Watson told a story from last year’s tournament, when he was near the top of the leaderboard but was beating himself up after some shots he’d given away.
“They had restrooms on the way to the first tee. There was only one person walking out there. It was a semi-blind person. He was trying to find his way back to the path,” Watson said, choking back more tears.
“You look at this and you think, what right do you have to be unhappy with where you are? It still gets me. I don’t know where this guy came from, and I don’t know what a blind guy is doing at a golf tournament.
“But I think he was one of my angels.”
Unfortunately, the Champions Tour has typically been more museum than working exhibit. It’s fun to see Curtis Strange, but more because it stirs memories of his back-to-back U.S. Open wins, not because we’re expecting him to wow us with a memory at this year’s Senior PGA.
In Watson’s case, though, the here and now represents his time in the spotlight. Outside of a small run in 1984 when he won three times in a seven-week stretch and nearly took the U.S. Open from Andy North, Watson’s scorecard has been more about tallying injuries than sub-par rounds. He’s simply been the Other Watson, an insult compounded by the fact that Denis’ ex-wife later married Tom Watson. She didn’t even have to buy new business cards.
A number of surgeries forced the 1975 Rhodesian Sportsman of the Year (his home country has since be renamed) out of the lineup in all but 30 events over the next 15 years. He toiled on the Nationwide Tour for a bit, dealt with another rash of injuries, then became the 2007 Champions Tour rookie of the year — one of the greatest oxymorons in sports.
Now he’s ready to defend his title, and to keep playing golf as often as possible. Watson won in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, then flew to Rochester to take part in media day. He thinks he finished his afternoon, playing on less than three hours sleep, near or just under par.
Either way, the tears told the whole story. The emotion was genuine. The Champions Tour might be an old boy’s social club for some, a chance to joke about the days when guys named Fuzzy and the Shark battled at Augusta and St. Andrews.
But for Watson, this is more. These are the glory days.
And he’s not going to slow down until he’s gotten the most from them.
Contact group sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.
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