Here we go again…and for the first time, we actually have alternating weekly columns! I applaud my contemporary, CommonAnomaly, on his brilliant second foray into
Warning: Contains Thoughts. Hopefully I can live up to the example he’s set.
Anyway, I had a column all picked out for last week, and other than the time that has elapsed between then and now, I figured it would still hold up. As many of you know, I am an avid follower of the
PGA Tour (for those of you who do not know, that’s the
Professional Golf Association). The sport is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to watch after football, and I am still amazed at how good some of these men are at the game. Golf is one of those activities that many chide due to a mischaracterized reputation, but I think anyone who has ever picked up a club and swung it has realized just how difficult the game is.
A few weeks ago, the third major tournament of the year was held. For all you laymen, a “major” refers to a tournament that is considered to be one of the biggest. While there are many tournaments held, the majors usually exhibit the most talent and excitement. The first is always at
Augusta, the course of
Bobby Jones (the greatest amateur to play the game). This tournament is known as the
Master’s, after the titular player who wowed the world all those years ago. The second major’s location changes every year, but it is always held in the United States. Kind of a given really, since it is the
US Open. At the end of the year, one of the final tournaments that is played is the only major that does not allow amateurs to play, for good reason, since it is the
PGA Tour Championship.
Today, however, I wish to discuss the third major of the year known as
The Open Championship, or more commonly, the British Open. This major is played in the United Kingdom at one of its beautiful and links-style courses. Links courses are notoriously difficult: they have few to no trees and have long, tough grass for its rough. Due to the few trees, the winds that are common in the UK are harsh with nothing to block them. You can hit a drive down the middle of the fairway and it’ll fly 10-15 yards to the right because of 20 mile per hour winds coming from the opposite direction. This year the setting was at
Turnberry Golf Links, a course rich in history of both golf and war.
Now, this year was offering to be
Tiger Woods’s tourney, adding to his growing list of majors, inching him ever-closer to the immortal Golden Bear,
Jack Nicklaus. On the first day,
Woods had a lot of issues, but managed to stay under par (though he ended up not even making the cut after two days). Yet even more surprising than that, the top of the leaderboard was graced with another figure: a man known as
Tom Watson, who was 59 years of age…approaching 60 in a few months.
He was here to play exceptional golf and eat Werther’s Originals, and he was all out of Werther’s.To many my age (or younger),
Watson wasn’t the type of figure who was well known. Only the fact that my dad followed pro golf was I able to know about his exploits and his many wins over the years. In the first round, he shot exceptionally well…and everyone said “wow, what a fluke.”
Except
Watson proved it wasn’t a fluke. He ended up topping the leaders for two more days; in fact, he was set to win the tournament as long as he didn’t bogey Hole 18 on Sunday. Unfortunately, he missed his par putt, and lost in a playoff to
Stewart Cink, who won his first career major. Afterward,
Watson told the press to stop treating it as a “funeral”, though you could tell he was grossly disappointed.
I was able to see most of the tournament, and I watched a man who had won his first
Open Championship before many on the
Tour were even born, knocking the golf ball out there with the young men who are usually so dominant in these events. To give you a reasonable idea: at his final
Master’s this year,
Gary Player shot around a 13 over par, and did not make the cut for the final two days. While emotional, and at a time when he was younger an exceptional golfer, he still did not have the physical ability to maintain a share of any lead with those younger.
Watson proved the fact that you needed to be in the prime of your life to stay competitive was a fallacy. And why not? Look at
George Foreman, who won the World Heavyweight Championship in boxing in his 40s!
While I watched this history being made, I could not help but reflect on our concept of “age.” Many of us seem to grow older with disdain. It seems the final birthday that we really “celebrate” is 21, otherwise after that it begins to be downhill: 30, 40…the dreaded 50. People pay thousands of dollars to obtain surgery to make themselves look younger. Women have boob lifts and liposuction…men go out and dye their hair and buy a $50,000 dollar sports car.
I think what we should learn from
Watson is one thing: you are only as old as you
feel. I myself have been growing older, and dreading each birthday to 30 (yeah, I know I’m still young technically). However, while I think gaining wisdom is important, we must remember that it’s okay to be silly and act young. The other day I went tubing with my family, and I watched my father out there, hanging on for dear life and having a blast being pulled by that boat. That night he went home and played rambunctiously with the dog. Who says we have to act our age all the time???
So I welcome
The Unsung Heroes to go out in the world and be more like
Watson…instead of trying to look younger, just
feel young. Life’s too short to worry about growing old or all those things “grownups” worry about. Go play with your friends, goof off with your kids…whatever. I refuse to believe that just because you’re growing old that it means you have to start sitting on your porch, screaming at kids to get off your lawn…you don’t see
Tom Watson doing that. He’s got more important stuff to do.
You’re up, Common.
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of The-USH.com or its owner.
