An Interview with Tom Watson
March 27, 2008
DAVE SENKO: Tom, thanks for joining us. Maybe just get us
started a little bit.
TOM WATSON: That's right, doing a lot of spring cleaning.
Been fighting the government, but that's about it. Actually I
like spring cleaning a lot better than fighting the government.
My land has been annexed by the city and we're trying to tell
the county that it's a little bit premature to be annexing this
much land. It's a fight that we're losing right now, but we've
still got a few punches left somewhere.
That's been a lesson and an understanding how government works,
how the power of politics works for certain people. It's been
good. It's been a good educational experience. I've been
enjoying it.
DAVE SENKO: Have you had a chance much to work on things
with being at home, weather wise?
TOM WATSON: Well, the only thing I've really been doing
as far as my golf is concerned, I've been working out and I'm in
good shape. I haven't hit too many balls. We've had a bad
winter.
But I did change my putting setup and style, and I'm really
looking forward to putting that to the test this week on these
greens. I've gotten back to the way I used to set up to the
ball, and it makes the ball roll better. I'm set up more behind
it, getting up on the ball a little bit more, the ball is a
little bit more in the middle of my stance, and so far it's
proven very good.
Q. Not to pry, but to pry, can you elaborate a little bit
on the issues of the land? They want to build a shopping center
or an airport?
TOM WATSON: No, it's the city of Overland Park, which has
annexed 15 square miles I'm sorry, it was 15 square miles, but
the commissioner has reduced it to eight and a half square
miles, which is a lot of land. Most of it is agricultural land,
and most of the residents want the country lifestyle and they
think it's too soon to be annexing. There's always annexation,
but it's not the time, and the commissioner feels that way
unfortunately.
The annexation law in the state of Kansas is such that you don't
have a vote on it. The people that are being annexed don't have
a vote on it. It's part and parcel of suing right now the county
commissioner for not doing it the right way procedurally from a
legal standpoint.
They also have a bill that didn't get out of committee in the
state of Kansas, House committee, that we're trying to do
something with right now. Attach it to another bill, go forward
with it.
Q. (Inaudible.)
TOM WATSON: Yeah, I think everybody ought to get involved
with the political process somehow, and I've always wanted to
somehow get involved with the political process in some manner.
This has been a good manner. This has been a good understanding
of trying to understand the law, trying to understand how our
governmental officials work, the Board of County Commissioners,
the House of Representatives in the state of Kansas, the Senate,
how lobbyists work. It's a fascinating it's a game. It's a chess
game when you come right down to it.
We seem like we're pawns in this versus the knights and the
bishops.
Q. (Inaudible.)
TOM WATSON: No, absolutely not, not at all. I think
everybody ought to get involved in supporting a candidate in an
election to understand how the election process works. I think
everybody ought to do that to understand our political system.
This is part and parcel of that. It's been an interesting
process.
Q. I have a couple of Masters related questions for you
if you don't mind
TOM WATSON: Another political process (laughter).
Q. First, this has to do with Gary Player who's coming in
here later. I guess it's 30 years since he won his last. You
were involved in that one in 1978. Just curious what you
remember from your standpoint. You were in the mix that day,
came from behind and
TOM WATSON: Yeah, I remember how I missed a short putt at
14 for I think I three putted 14 from about six feet, hit it
right in there real close and knocked it by about five feet and
I missed it.
Then on 18, I made a mistake but unfortunately I learned from
it. Off the tee I hooked it in the left trees, and I put it in
the left trees and the right trees there with a chance to win
the tournament or tie for the tournament. Both times I played
the wrong shot. I played the wrong shot. I tried to cut the ball
out of the left trees and I tried to hit the ball onto the green
from the right trees to the flagstick position. I understand now
that that was not my percentage play. I was trying to be a hero.
I do remember making bogey at the 18th hole. Gary won. That was
a big disappointment. Lesson learned.
Q. Obviously you had a lot of good things happen there,
too. Are there a couple that stand out, a memory that stands out
from your victory?
TOM WATSON: At a Masters? Sure. '77 I was playing very
well, so that was more of a pleasurable experience. But in '81 I
wasn't playing particularly well, but I hit some critical shots
to win.
I talked to Nick yesterday about a couple of an uphill bunker
shot that I played at 17 in '81 and knocked it it was not an
easy shot to get the right distance and get it close. You're
always going to probably come up a little bit short there, but
you don't want to go over the green. I hit it pin high to the
right and made a good putt to save par to protect a one shot
lead. That was a shot I remember, and I had to get it done.
Of course playing '77 I made four birdies in a row on the front
side there to really kind of separate me from the rest of the
field and then made a couple bogeys, and here comes the Bear. It
came down to Jack and me on the last few holes. We were tied all
the way into the 17th. I made a birdie putt, and Jack (Nicklaus)
made an error in judgment on 18 as he admitted. He heard the
cheer and kind of changed his mind on what club he was going to
hit.
Kind of like Colin Montgomerie did possibly at Winged Foot on
the 18th hole, same thing. That element of doubt creeps in even
though you think you've made the right decision. That element of
doubt sometimes gets you.
Q. What is left that you want to get out of golf?
TOM WATSON: The competition is still there. I like coming
out here and playing a tough golf course and competing against
with the best field we have all year and then go to the Masters.
I still enjoy that. The British Open, playing against the kids.
Q. We have a perception for what it's going to be like to
be older, X years old. As it happens, are you surprised by maybe
the fire that you still have, the passion for the game? I mean,
25 years ago would you have guessed you would feel like this and
approach the game as you are?
TOM WATSON: 25 years ago before the Senior Tour I didn't
expect to be playing professional golf at this age. So the
Senior Tour has been as they say, it's the ultimate mulligan to
be able to still compete. By competing out here, you still have
a chance to kind of keep your game sharp and to play, as I said,
The Masters and the British Open. I still have visions that I
can do well, especially at the British Open.
Q. But did you think you’d still have the fire now that
you did when you were younger?
TOM WATSON: Sure. I don't have the fire as much now all
the time to be the to practice every day, to keep my game as
sharp as I'd like to, but I go through stretches where I do have
that fire, where I do get my game in shape. Like right now, this
is the beginning stretch of five weeks in a row for me. The
swing is starting to come around. I hit some balls yesterday,
and the adjustments that I made were the right adjustments. Kind
of like booting up your computer, you kind of let everything
fall in place and see if it's running properly and make
adjustments from there.
That's what I'm doing right now. And by I hope by I'll have some
real good feedback today in the Pro Am, and then Friday,
Saturday, Sunday for the competition I'll ramp it up and see how
that comes, and then there's Cap Cana next week and then The
Masters the following week, to Tampa defending the following
week, and then a fun week in Savannah to play with my friend
Andy North in the Liberty Mutual Legends. That stretch right
now, the fire is there right now.
Q. You don’t have anything left to prove …
TOM WATSON: Yeah, I do, sure. I haven't won the U.S.
Senior Open.
Q. OK. But do you still get angry when you don’t do well,
and things like that?
TOM WATSON: Sure, yeah. Pretty simple to say. I've heard
Trevino say it and I've heard other players say it at older
ages, but you lose that anger of your failures, and what are you
doing out here?
Q. Do you expect there to be someone to come along to
challenge Tiger (Woods) sort of like you did Jack (Nicklaus)?
TOM WATSON: No, not in my lifetime. I don't think so.
He's far and away he's surpassed Jack, I think. I think Jack has
admitted it, too. He's dominated golf like nobody has ever
dominated the game. You're seeing it right now in the middle of
it, and he still has how many years left? You can't predict
what's going to happen, but the pace he's set and continues to
set is it's unmatchable.
I used to say that about Nicklaus' championship record - will
anybody ever surpass it? And I remember a few people say, well,
the competition is so tough, nobody will ever get to there.
Well, you were wrong.
I always said it's improbable that somebody is going to match
but not impossible. To win four major championships in a year,
it's not impossible but it's improbable. Well, Tiger has proved
that improbable wasn't the right term, and it is possible.
Q. Did you ever start a year thinking, I can win all four
of the majors this year?
TOM WATSON: Yeah, I had dreams of that. I did, yeah. Just
get it done.
Q. What year did you think you had your best chance?
TOM WATSON: I thought '80 was basically '80 was my best
year. That was the year that I thought maybe everything would
fall into place.
Q. Since we got you rolling on Tiger, everybody sees the
physical ability he's got, the shots, the results of the shots,
but how much of his success do you think is that he is mentally
maybe a little tougher than a lot of people?
TOM WATSON: It goes down to a ping pong match between him
and (Phil) Mickelson. He wins the first, Mickelson wins the
second, Mickelson wants the tie break. You know, he doesn't want
to give an inch in anything, and that's the interesting thing he
has.
He was trained by his dad when he was a young kid, and that
along with all the talent, like I said, Byron Nelson, 16 years
old when he watched him play, he said, I can't say this about
any other 16 year old, that he has no faults. He was still raw.
Q. His dad would jingle the change in his pocket to
toughen him up and things like that. Would you say that worked?
TOM WATSON: Well, you'd have to ask him. It looks like it
worked, yeah.
Q. You can learn
TOM WATSON: Yeah, competitive, sure. You add the race
issue into it, you have to be thick skinned when it comes to
that, too. I'm sure that toughened him up, as well.
Q. You mentioned earlier looking forward to competing in
the Masters, the British Open. It sort of didn't get a lot of
attention but the British Open changed their age criteria going
forward, and it really seems to affect you the most.
TOM WATSON: Yeah, it does. They called me and released
the fact that they made that change. You know, that's a
necessary change. I don't want to take up a spot of some kid as
I was when I was 26 years old playing my first Open
Championship. You've got to make room for the future. You've got
to let go of the past.
Augusta hasn't done that, and they tried to do it, and it would
have been the sensible thing to do at Augusta. But there was too
much lobbying against it, getting back to our politics.
Q. That would mean you'd get to play at St. Andrews in
2010?
TOM WATSON: That's right.
Q. That will be your last one?
TOM WATSON: That's right. We're going to have a heck of a
party.
Q. Talk about the course we're on right now. What does it
take to be successful at this course? What does it take to
succeed playing the Ocean Course?
TOM WATSON: Well, you'd better be on, first of all. You'd
better be on with every facet of your game. It's a very
difficult course. The rough this year is much more challenging
driving. You've got to put the ball in the fairway. The greens
are quick, and with any sort of wind it's very hard it's very
hard to chip to these greens with the wind. The greens are
mostly perched up so you're faced with an uphill shot to get to
the greens most of the time.
What I like about the course is the variety. There's just a lot
of variety at this golf course. My favorite hole on the golf
course is 15. I love the way the green sits up there. Talk about
a linksy green, that's a linksy green, I like that. You've got
to play it right. They give you enough room to do everything on
the hole, the wind is a major factor. When there's no wind you
still have the issue of your uphill shot.
But the golf course is the 18th hole, if I were to change
anything, I'd change the access of the 18th green. I think the
access is too much right to left. It should be a little bit more
straight on to give yourself a chance to get on the green. Right
now you really have to thread the needle to get on that green.
Just to stay on that green you've got to thread the needle very,
very precisely.
Q. There's a course right down the road from you that's
going to host the PGA TOUR later this year.
TOM WATSON: Yeah, they're trying to get me to come play
it.
Q. Any chance of that?
TOM WATSON: I don't think so, but the one thing about the
course, the Conservatory, our grass is Paspalum, and you can't
really grow Paspalum rough, so there won't be any rough. But to
deal with that we added a lot of length to the golf course. So
if they want to play it at 7,700 yards at sea level they can do
that. The greens are big and contoured.
It's a beautiful course. Bobby spared no change in making it a
beautiful golf course. He built a golf course and he added the
beauty around it. It'll be a good experience.
DAVE SENKO: Thank you.
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