Tom Watson is a member of the PGA Tour hall of fame and is one of the most successful golfers of all time, having won eight major championships and a total of 39 PGA Tour events. Watson has also enjoyed success on the Champions Tour, amassing 13 victories between 1999 and 2010. Watson also competed in multiple Ryder Cups as a player before captaining the team to success in 1993.
Beginnings
Tom Watson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1949. He was introduced to the game of golf at the age of 6 by his father, Ray, who was a scratch golfer himself. By the age of 17, Tom was the state amateur champion. He went on to study psychology at Stanford University where he played college golf until he graduated in 1971.
Career Highlights
Watson joined the PGA Tour straight out of college and within three years had recorded his first victory, which came at the 1974 Western Open. He moved into the game's elite in 1977 when he won the Masters and the British Open in the same year. The 1977 Open win was one of the most memorable in golf history with Watson going head to head with Jack Nicklaus over the weekend, shooting back to back 65s and closing with a birdie to clinch the title. He achieved a similar feat at the 1982 U.S. Open when he chipped in on the 71st hole, helping him to deny Nicklaus once more.
British Open 2009
Though he didn't manage to win, Tom Watson's performance at Turnberry in the 2009 British Open will be etched in the memory of anyone who was watching. At the age of 59, Watson took on the best players in the game, many of them young enough to be his grandson and came up to the 18th hole on Sunday needing a par to win. Although he dropped a shot and lost in the ensuing playoff, the performance will be remembered as one of the most impressive the game has ever seen.
Charity
In 2004, Tom lost his longtime caddie and friend to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The next year he set up the Bruce Edwards Foundation for ALS Research in the hope of finding a way to slow the disease and ultimately cure people suffering from it. Watson's other charitable efforts include hosting the Children's Mercy Golf Tournament for 25 years, an event that helped raise $12 million for a Kansas City children's hospital. He also plays an active role in the First Tee of Kansas, an organization that helps kids of all backgrounds develop values and personality through golf.
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