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Watson beats Mason for Senior British Open
Turnberry, England, July 28: American Tom Watson won the Senior British Open by beating England`s Carl Mason on the second hole of a sudden death playoff.
Turnberry, England, July 28: American Tom Watson won the Senior British Open by beating England's Carl Mason on the second hole of a sudden death playoff.
The 53-year-old's victory, after a six-under-par 64, revived memories of his famous 'duel in the sun' success against Jack Nicklaus in the 1977 Open on the same course.
''I consider it a great honour to win this championship, particularly at Turnberry where Jack and I fought out that great battle all that time ago,'' said a delighted Watson yesterday.
Yesterday, it looked as if Watson would have to settle for second place as he bogeyed the 72nd hole for a 17-under-par 263. But he got a second chance when Mason took six on the same hole.
Both players had par fours on the first extra hole before Watson won with a par four on the second playoff hole.
''To be honest, I thought I had lost it,'' said Watson. ''Carl played so great all week, I thought he would finish the job. But he didn't.
''That's golf, I suppose. It has happened to us all at one time or another,'' he added.
Watson has now won two senior majors on top of the five Opens, two Masters and one US Open he won in the 1970s and 1980s. He also has five champions tour titles under his belt now along with 39 on the US PGA tour.
Mason has the consolation of jumping to the top of the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit after coming second, but he could not hide his disappointment at letting the most prestigious prize in seniors golf slip from his grasp.
''I don't know what to say. I'm gutted,'' he said. ''I'm proud of the way I played but to get that close and then miss out is extremely disappointing, to say the least.
''Tonight, I think I will do what I do most nights, just a little bit more,'' Mason added with a rueful smile.
Further down the leaderboard America's Bruce Summerhays carded a final round 65 to finish his first tournament on a links course in third place on 16-under-par 264.
The 59-year-old from Utah was two shots ahead of Tom Kite, six clear of D.A. Weibring and seven in front of Australia's Brian Jones and America's Mark Mccumber.
America's Jim Colbert won the Super Seniors Prize awarded to the leading competitor aged 60 and over despite stumbling to a closing three over par 73. Colbert dropped into a share of tenth place but still finished two shots clear of Nicklaus.
Bureau Report
The 53-year-old's victory, after a six-under-par 64, revived memories of his famous 'duel in the sun' success against Jack Nicklaus in the 1977 Open on the same course.
''I consider it a great honour to win this championship, particularly at Turnberry where Jack and I fought out that great battle all that time ago,'' said a delighted Watson yesterday.
Yesterday, it looked as if Watson would have to settle for second place as he bogeyed the 72nd hole for a 17-under-par 263. But he got a second chance when Mason took six on the same hole.
Both players had par fours on the first extra hole before Watson won with a par four on the second playoff hole.
''To be honest, I thought I had lost it,'' said Watson. ''Carl played so great all week, I thought he would finish the job. But he didn't.
''That's golf, I suppose. It has happened to us all at one time or another,'' he added.
Watson has now won two senior majors on top of the five Opens, two Masters and one US Open he won in the 1970s and 1980s. He also has five champions tour titles under his belt now along with 39 on the US PGA tour.
Mason has the consolation of jumping to the top of the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit after coming second, but he could not hide his disappointment at letting the most prestigious prize in seniors golf slip from his grasp.
''I don't know what to say. I'm gutted,'' he said. ''I'm proud of the way I played but to get that close and then miss out is extremely disappointing, to say the least.
''Tonight, I think I will do what I do most nights, just a little bit more,'' Mason added with a rueful smile.
Further down the leaderboard America's Bruce Summerhays carded a final round 65 to finish his first tournament on a links course in third place on 16-under-par 264.
The 59-year-old from Utah was two shots ahead of Tom Kite, six clear of D.A. Weibring and seven in front of Australia's Brian Jones and America's Mark Mccumber.
America's Jim Colbert won the Super Seniors Prize awarded to the leading competitor aged 60 and over despite stumbling to a closing three over par 73. Colbert dropped into a share of tenth place but still finished two shots clear of Nicklaus.
Bureau Report