Watson rolls back the years with a 65

GOLF BRITISH OPEN:DON'T YOU just love it? Imagine if Pele were to nutmeg Cristiano Ronaldo. Or Rod Laver was to smash a volley past Roger Federer. Or Ronnie Delany was to out-sprint Usain Bolt. Dream on, dream on, dream on . . . and, yet, this is akin to what Tom Watson did for real at Turnberry yesterday.

In a real-life blast from the past, Watson – who will turn 60 in September, the age deemed by the RA as the cut-off mark for automatic eligibility for past champions which would make next year’s championship at St Andrews his last – defied whatever aches and pains and stiff muscles that afflict the aged to roll back the years.

Let’s put the performance of Watson, a five-time British Open champion in his heyday, and that of a few other old foggies – Mark Calcavecchia and Mark O’Meara both shot 67s – into perspective.

Watson, the star turn in the “Duel in the Sun” with Jack Nicklaus in 1977, but without a top-10 finish since Troon in 1989, shot an opening round 65. Tiger Woods, the greatest golfer of his generation and en route to being the greatest of any era, had a 71.

It wasn’t just that Watson outscored Woods by six strokes, it was the way that he did it. The round was bogey free.

The drives were pure, the iron shots crisp, and the putter – the club which has betrayed Watson more often than any other over the years – behaved itself, even if the old man had occasion to envy the fearless putting of playing partner Matteo Manassero, the 16-year-old Italian who earlier this summer became the youngest ever winner of the British amateur.

Yesterday, though, was Watson’s day. Again. In 1977, he famously out-duelled Nicklaus in the final round of the British Open on this links on the rocky south-western coast of Scotland.

Yesterday, he rolled back the years, spurred on – he believed – by a text he received from Jack Nicklaus’s wife, Barbara, on Wednesday which offered him encouragement.

“I texted back and said, ‘you know, we really miss you over here’. And I meant it. It’s not the same without Jack playing in the tournament. There was some spirituality out there today,” remarked Watson, his face creasing between that ready smile of his and the attempts to keep tears from his eyes.

Okay, the weather was benign. Watson didn’t have to battle 25- miles-an-hour winds or heavy rain. Still, his retro jumper and retro shot-making showed there was plenty of life in the old dog yet.

“With the wind down, (the plan was to) take advantage of the old girl and get off to a running start, which I did,” remarked Watson. “Turnberry is pretty defenceless (without wind).”

Watson had felt good about his game throughout the practice days. “Sometimes, when you get to my age, you don’t know how you are going to wake up. You just don’t know. That golf swing might be there, and it might not be there. But, fortunately, most of the time it is there. It just continued on (from the practice days). I played a lot of quality shots.”

He added: “I do feel inspired playing here . . . I feel that I’m playing well enough to win the golf tournament. It doesn’t feel a whole lot out of the ordinary from 32 years ago, except that I don’t have the confidence in my putting as I had 32 years ago.”

Enough of them found the hole yesterday for Watson’s name to raise eyebrows and brings smiles to spectators around the course.

“Is that Tom or Bubba?” “Old Tom.” Much shaking of heads.

But Watson wasn’t alone in flying the flag for the golden years generation. Two other past champions – O’Meara, a sprightly 52, and Calcavecchia, who turns 50 next year – shot 67s. They didn’t mind standing in Watson’s shadow though. Not yesterday.