Tom Watson (golfer)
| Tom Watson | |
|---|---|
Watson after winning the 1982 U.S. Open | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Thomas Sturges Watson |
| Born | September 4, 1949 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Sporting nationality | United States |
| Residence | Overland Park, Kansas, U.S. |
| Spouse | Linda Rubin
(m. 1972; div. 1997)Hilary Watson
(m. 1999; died 2019)LeslieAnne Wade
(m. 2022; sep. 2022)Dorothy Cohen (m. 2024) |
| Children | 5 |
| Career | |
| College | Stanford University |
| Turned professional | 1971 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour PGA Tour Champions European Seniors Tour |
| Professional wins | 70 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 39 (Tied-10th all-time) |
| European Tour | 8 |
| Japan Golf Tour | 4 |
| Asian Tour | 1 |
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 1 |
| PGA Tour Champions | 14 |
| Other | 11 |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 8) | |
| Masters Tournament | Won: 1977, 1981 |
| PGA Championship | T2: 1978 |
| U.S. Open | Won: 1982 |
| The Open Championship | Won: 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983 |
| Achievements and awards | |
Thomas Sturges Watson (born September 4, 1949) is an American golfer. In the 1970s and 1980s, Watson was one of the leading golfers in the world, winning eight major championships and heading the PGA Tour money list five times. He was the number one player in the world according to McCormack's World Golf Rankings from 1978 until 1982; in both 1983 and 1984, he was ranked second behind Seve Ballesteros. He also spent 32 weeks in the top 10 of the successor Sony Rankings in their debut in 1986.
Watson is also notable for his longevity: at nearly sixty years of age, and 26 years after his last major championship victory, he led after the second and third rounds of The Open Championship in 2009, but lost in a four-hole playoff. With a chance to win the tournament with par on the 72nd hole, he missed an 8-foot (2.4 m) putt, then lost to Stewart Cink in the playoff.
Several of Watson's major victories came at the expense of Jack Nicklaus, the man he replaced as number one, most notably the 1977 Masters, 1977 Open Championship, and the 1982 U.S. Open. Though his rivalry with Nicklaus was intense, their friendly competitiveness served to increase golf's popularity at the time.
In Watson's illustrious career, his eight major championships include five Open Championships, two Masters titles, and one U.S. Open title. In all, Watson's eight majors ranks sixth on the list of total major championship victories, behind only Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, and Gary Player.
Watson is also regarded as one of the greatest links players of all time, a claim backed up by his five Open Championship victories, his runner-up finishes at the 1984 Open Championship and 2009 Open Championship, and his three Senior British Open Championship titles in his mid-50s (2003, 2005, and 2007).
Watson played on four Ryder Cup teams and captained the American side to victory in 1993 at The Belfry in England. More than twenty years later, Watson again captained the U.S. Team in 2014 in Scotland, this time in a loss.