Tom English: 'Watson couldn't have said goodbye with more class'

Published on Thursday 15 July 2010 01:19

SNAPSHOTS OF St Andrews, part I Tom Watson, the everyday hero

UNABLE to play in the breeze, the five-time Open champion decided to shoot it on Friday afternoon. Tom Watson was standing on the 1st tee when the honk of hooters rang around the Old Course, Padraig Harrington and young Ryo Ishikawa alongside him. There was a moment when the three looked confused about what to do. Should they hang about and wait for the gusts to die or get themselves out of there to the comfort of the locker room? Harrington and Ishikawa departed, Watson stayed. Stayed and chatted to the public.

He walked over to an area reserved for people in wheelchairs and went down the line shaking hands with each one. Maybe ten in all. The last of them was a military man, Sergeant Paul "Baz" Barrett, a native of Manchester but a resident of Letham, near Forfar. In his mid-30s and a father two, Baz trod on a landmine at Sangin in Helmand Province in December 2008 and lost a leg. For 20 minutes, Baz and Watson chatted. They talked about all sorts; about Rangers and Celtic, about horses, about pipe fencing and dry stacking. Watson mentioned that his step-daughter was a singer and was performing in the Criterion bar in the town that night. "Nashville type stuff," he smiled. "Sassy!"

Mostly they talked about golf and war. "It must be frustrating for you having to play in that wind," said Baz. "It's a bit of a hazard."

"Hey," said Watson. "You're a guy who knows what hazards are really like. We don't have hazards."

Watson mentioned Major Dan Rooney, an American pilot, who created Patriot Golf Day in America, a scheme that raised money for military families who'd lost loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq. On and on they went, from Helmand to Ryo to Rory McIlroy. "Oh, they're something special, those kids," said Watson. "Way back when, I used to hit it like them, I used to really hit shit out of it." Then Watson noticed a lady standing behind. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "Excuse my language. I should say, I hit the tar out of it."

Truth be told, the lady didn't mind. She could have listened to Watson all day. Such a good man. This was his last Open at St Andrews. And he couldn't have said goodbye with more class and respect.

Snapshots, part II

What do we think of Rory now?

CONDITIONS on Friday afternoon were brutal. Hats blowing off heads, putts getting swept off line, balls moving on the greens, frustration galore. Rory McIlroy shot 80, but then so did lots of guys. He putted horrendously, but he wasn't the only one. Watching him toil so badly made you think, though.Were his problems technical or mental? Was his demise purely the result of the awful conditions - or did the conditions merely point to a more fundamental chink in his game?

After all, in the group behind McIlroy was the promising American, Nick Watney, whose round was seven strokes better than McIlroy's. Young Ryo Ishikawa was also out in the worst of it and he, too, shot 73 to McIlroy's 80. Ryuichi Oda, the Japanese player appearing in his first Open, shot 72. Jin Jeong, the Korean amateur who is a year younger than McIlroy, was 1-under for the 17 holes he got finished on Friday. None of these guys have much, if any experience, of playing in gusts and yet they handled the conditions better than the boy we all assume will one day be king. Some food for thought, that.

Maybe he will be king one day. Maybe he learned a lesson on Friday that will stay with him through the rest of his career. His putting was his principle problem, but his lack of fight was troubling. We know he can shoot the lights out when the mood strikes him. But can he dig deep and grind it out when he needs to? All great champions are warriors. McIlroy, it would appear, has much to learn on that front.

Snapshots, part III

Steven Tiley, the great unsung

GOLF is a game of hard luck stories. A bad bounce here, an unlucky break there. How many times have we heard players talk about how rank bad fortune was the difference between success and failure? Most of their plaintive cries can be dismissed. But if Steven Tiley was to moan - which he hasn't - then you'd have to forgive him.

Tiley was on the 11th hole when play came to a halt on Friday night. He was 6-under for the championship and in a share of third place. For a guy whose only victories in the game have come on the Jamega Tour - a mini-circuit in the UK - and at last year's Egyptian Open on the Challenge Tour, this was quite clearly shaping up to be the week of his golfing life.

Then it all went wrong.

Tiley got back to his accommodation at 11pm on Friday, grabbed some food, hit the bed at 11.30pm, tossed and turned, eventually nodding off around 1am and waking again three hours later. He was back on the 11th hole at 6.30 yesterday morning - and double-bogeyed the fiendish par 3. His game had deserted him overnight. From a leaderboard story, he suddenly got sucked into a scrap for survival. Tiley dropped seven shots in his eight holes, his 6-under becoming 1-over in a destructive few hours. He just about made the cut.

The heroic part? Tiley began his third round not long after finishing his second. The guy must have been dog-tired, but he teed it up and forgot his woes. About 1pm yesterday he arrived back on the 11th tee, the place where it all started go wrong. Somehow, he was 1-under for his round and level for the championship. An easy three at the 11th and away he went, down the ruinous stretch with a spring in his step.

He won't get much coverage today, but we salute his spirit.If there was a Claret Jug for guts, Tiley would be a contender.