Tom Watson of the US hugs his wife Hilary as he walks off the 18th green during the second round of the British Open golf championship on Friday.

Reuters/St. Andrews


The twilight of Tom Watson’s storied 40-year British Open career came in the twilight.
It was 9:48 p.m. on Friday when Watson, winner of the Open five times though never at St. Andrews, walked off the 17th green to loud cheers—“We love you, Tom”—from a sparse crowd. On the 18th tee the 65-year-old Watson asked his two playing partners, Ernie Els and Brandt Snedeker, whether they wanted to play the final hole as darkness fell. Both men said yes. They teed off in the gloaming.
The players and caddies stopped on the Swilcan Bridge for the traditional parting wave from a retiring golf hero, and the crowd responded with still-louder cheers.
Watson was the last to depart the bridge and head toward the green. He had a spring in his step.
But the emotion and chilly, windy and drizzly darkness, maybe both, were taking their toll.
Watson bogeyed the last five holes, including missing a short putt on the 18th to an audible groan from the crowd.
But when his final putt fell—at 9:53pm—the cheers erupted all over again. This time, with no rush to finish another hole before absolute darkness, they went on and on.  At his news conference afterwards Watson reminisced about his four decades of Open experiences, including the 1977 ‘Duel in the Sun’ at Turnberry, where he tied Jack Nicklaus with a 50-foot putt on the 15th hole of the final round and went on to beat golf’s then-dominant player.
Nicklaus threw his arm around Watson’s shoulder as the two men walked off the green.  “The applause (today) made me feel humbled,” said Watson, who missed the cut on his swansong appearance at St. Andrews after carding an eight-over 80 in the second round.