Watson squanders his chance at a historic win at the British Open
7/19/2009TURNBERRY, Scotland Tom Watson squandered a chance to become golf's oldest major champion. The 59-year-old missed an 8-foot putt on the 72nd hole of the British Open, then lost a four-hole playoff to Stewart Cink.
Cink won his first major title, but this one will be remembered as the one that Watson let get away when he had a historic victory in his grasp.
He looked his age after a bogey on the last hole of regulation left him tied with Cink at 2-under 278. Watson bogeyed the first playoff hole and fell apart at the third, the par-5 17th.
An errant tee shot, two whacks to get out of the rough, and three putts left him with a double-bogey 7. It was over.
Cink capped it with a birdie at No. 18, winning the playoff by six shots.