Watson dreams of Turnberry triumph.
Posted: 15 July 2009
As Tom Watson relaxed on the eve of the 138th Open Championship in the new ‘Duel in the Sun’ bar of the recently re-opened Turnberry hotel, thoughts of past glories would have been inevitable.
The Open has often borne witness to the wilder elements of British weather, but the Championship’s first visit to Turnberry, in 1977, was to become famous for the relentless ‘duel in the sun’ between two of the greatest Champions of all time.
Jack Nicklaus, who ended up with three Open victories among his 18 Major Championships and Watson, who landed no fewer than five on the way to collecting a career haul of eight majors, were no fewer than ten strokes ahead of Hubert Green in third place, trading the lead to the last in searing temperatures that had scorched the fairways to straw.
“This is what it’s all about isn’t it?” Watson asked Nicklaus on the sixteenth tee. “You bet it is” replied the Golden Bear, who, in defeat, demonstrated what the ‘duel’ had meant to him by escorting the victor Watson to the scorers tent with his arm around his shoulder.
“It’s a marvelous place. It’s a place that brings back obviously great memories,” said Watson. “It brings back memories of elation, of good play.
“The ’77 Open was one of my cherished victories. It was one of those rare weeks that I when I came into the golf tournament thinking I had a real chance to win. If I played my cards right I would. And as it turned out I did.
“’77 was the year that I really felt I could play with the big boys,” added the 59-year-old. “I won the Masters and The Open beating the best player in the world. And that was my dream when I was a kid.”
Since the Claret Jug was lest held aloft at Turnberry fifteen years ago by Nick Price, a lot has changed. In October of last year, Leisurecorp, a division of Nakheel Leisure, took possession of the famous resort and immediately closed the Ailsa course so that a program of enhancements could be completed to sharpen its teeth and ensure its pristine condition for The Open.
A total of 21 bunkers have been added to the course to improve its defence, with new tee positions and various fairway realignments also contributing to a significantly longer set-up than that which faced players fifteen years ago.
Turnberry has always been a favourite for Watson who also claimed victory in the Senior Open Championship in 2003 and he believes the changes are vital to combat advancements in equipment technology and the game’s big-hitters.
“They put the teeth in it,” said Watson. “In 2003, when I won here, I talked to Peter Dawson (The R&A chief executive officer) and I said, ‘Peter, the length you’re outing in the golf course is absolutely necessary with the distance the players are hitting the golf ball’. The changes are directly related to the equipment.”
