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Sports |
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| Haas' record finish bests Watson |
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| By Bob Blubaugh, Times Staff Writer |
Monday, October 05, 2009 |
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TIMONIUM — The stage was much smaller, the stakes far less, but that didn’t matter to Tom Watson. Reminiscent of the British Open in July when Watson nearly made history, he put himself in position to win on Sunday at the Senior Players Championship.
Again, he didn’t get it done, although it wasn’t as much Watson losing the tournament as Jay Haas taking it away from him.
Haas tied the course record at Baltimore Country Club with a 6-under-par 64 in blustery conditions, making birdies on the final two holes to catch and then pass Watson and complete a remarkable day that began with him trailing by five strokes.
“I didn’t have a number in mind ... I was just trying to shoot at flags and make birdies whenever I could,” said Haas, who finished at 13 under to edge Watson by one. “From tee to green, I can not play better. Under the conditions and circumstances, in a major tournament on a championship golf course, that’s the best I’ve got.”
Haas, who could barely swing less than a month ago because of arm tendinitis, earned his second win in a row and the third major title of his Champions Tour career. He also picked up a career-best check for $405,000 before catching a flight to San Francisco to act as an assistant for the U.S. team at the Presidents Cup.
Watson, who nearly pulled off one of the most memorable wins in golf history at Turnberry this summer before making a bogey at the 72nd hole and then losing in a playoff to Stewart Cink, was poised to become, at 60, the oldest winner of a senior major since the Champions Tour was formed in 1980.
If the pressure or his desire to win was any less on Sunday than it had been three months ago, he didn’t notice.
“Frankly, it’s not a lot different,” Watson said. “I’m a golfer. It’s what I do. And when I have a chance to win a tournament, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the British Open or this tour — it doesn’t matter a hill of beans. I try my darnedest to perform no matter what the circumstances are.”
Watson conceded that he wasn’t aggressive enough on Sunday, saying the best way to play with a four-shot lead is to turn it into a five-, six- or seven-shot lead.
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Still, he finished at even-par 70. At the beginning of a difficult day for scoring it seemed likely a 70 would be plenty good enough.
“I would’ve thought it had a pretty good chance of winning, yeah, but stranger things happen out here,” Watson said. “We’ve got players who can flat play on the Champions Tour and Jay Haas is one of them.
“Your lead’s not safe unless you do something and I didn’t do that something.”
Haas did, playing what was certainly the round of the day, probably the round of the tournament and maybe even the round of the year on the Champions Tour.
He was three strokes better than anyone else on a windy Sunday that produced an average score of 71.88, and he actually missed four birdie putts of six feet or less. He was the only player in the field without a bogey, hitting 13 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation.
Sunday initially had the feel of a coronation for the popular Watson. But after making just one bogey over the first 54 holes, he took three on the front nine to fall into a tie with Haas. It didn’t seem as if it would matter, however, after he sank a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 15 to re-take the lead.
“When I made that putt, I figured if Jay didn’t birdie 16, which he didn’t, I’d be in the catbird seat if I just played par golf in,” Watson said. “But that wasn’t the case.”
Haas birdied both 17 and 18, sinking a big-breaking 15-footer on 17 and then a 3-footer on 18, which played as the hardest hole of the tournament. After a perfect drive, Haas hit a stunning 6-iron from 195 yards that landed nicely on the front, right-center portion of the green and didn’t stop rolling toward the back left pin until it was a mere tap-in.
Watson’s chances for a tying birdie essentially ended when he drove into the deep right rough on 18. His second shot was well short of the green and his pitch never threatened the hole.
It was his sixth top-10 finish in his last seven events, including the British Open, but the Hall of Famer has not won in nearly 18 months.
If coming up just short is wearing on him, though, it didn’t show. He’s enjoying being in contention.
“That’s where I want to be,” Watson said. “I had my opportunity.”
But it was Haas who seized his opportunity.
“It never gets old,” Haas said. “Obviously, the money’s great and the titles and all that stuff, but to put it on the line and do it, to hit good shots when it matters most, there’s no greater feeling for a golfer.”
NOTES: Westminster resident Mike Reid shot his third 68 of the tournament to finish at 4 under, tied for ninth ... Fred Funk logged his ninth straight top-10 in a major, shooting a Sunday 67 to finish seventh ... Loren Roberts and Mark Wiebe tied for third at 7 under ... Roberts moved into first place in the season-long Schwab Cup standings ... Watson plans to play two more tournaments this year, then go to Afghanistan over Thanksgiving to visit U.S. troops ... The event is sponsored by Constellation Energy.
Reach staff writer Bob Blubaugh at 410-857-7895 or bob.blubaugh@carrollcountytimes.com.
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