British Open Championship 2009 : Leaderboard surprise Tom Watson
A quick glance at the 2009 British Open Championship’s leaderboard would make any golf enthusiast do a double take: 59 year-old Tom Watson is atop the leader board at the 2009 British Open.
Watson shot a spectacular 5-under 65 on Thursday which brought back memories of his win at Turnberry in ’77 when he out-dueled Jack Nicklaus to bring home the Claret Jug. Watson has brought home the coveted Jug five times in his career with wins in ’75, ’77, ’80, ’82, and 83.
Oh Watson has also nabbed three British Open titles on the PGA’s Champions Tour as well, so these tournaments are Watson’s bread and butter. Watson was excited to be back at Turnberry today, “The body’s a little bit old, but the enthusiasm out there was very similar, Watson said, referring to ’77. ”What a wonderful day to play.”
The conditions were prime today to go low, but Watson being the British Open veteran that he is, says “The course is defenseless. The wind will pick up tomorrow. She’ll have some teeth. I’m looking forward to that.”
One golfer who struggled today on his stroll around Turnberry was the favorite to win, Tiger Woods. Woods was able to shoot a respectable one-over 71 and he is of course still in contention, but some opportunities were missed as weather conditions were perfect to put up a number in the red. ”Well, I certainly made a few mistakes out there today, said Woods. ”Realistically I probably should have shot about 1 or 2 under par today. But I made a few mistakes and consequently, I’m at 1-over.” Woods will have some work to do if he plans to be in contention on Sunday. History does not hold well for the number one player in the world as Woods has never shot over par in the first round of a British Open and gone on to win the tournament.
Original from:
