[Golf Topic] 'Immortal Hero' Watson "Starting This Year, Masters Tee-Off~"

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] ○…73-year-old Tom Watson (USA, photo) will participate in the Masters ceremonial tee-off starting this year.

Augusta National Golf Club, the host of the Masters, announced on the 12th (Korean time) that "Watson, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player will perform the ceremonial tee-off this April." Nicklaus, Player, and Arnold Palmer are known as the ‘Original Big 3’ legends, and Watson is considered the greatest player of the next generation. Despite winning 8 major titles and a total of 39 PGA Tour victories, Watson never completed the PGA Championship win puzzle, which prevented him from achieving the ‘Career Grand Slam,’ a fact often regarded as unfortunate.

Watson’s prime years were in the 1970s and 1980s, with 5 Open Championship wins (1975, 1977, 1980, 1982?1983), 2 Masters wins (1977 and 1981), and 1 U.S. Open win (1982). In 2009, during the Open Championship, he displayed a ‘sixty-year-old fighting spirit.’ On the final day, leading by one stroke at the last 18th hole (par 4), he missed a 2-meter par putt, which led to a four-hole playoff against Stewart Cink (USA), ultimately finishing second. This dashed his chance to become the oldest winner in 142 years since Tom Morris (Scotland, 46 years and 99 days old) in 1867.

At the RBC Heritage in April 2014, at age 65, Watson drew the spotlight by playing a ‘44-year age gap paired round’ with Jordan Spieth (USA). It is noteworthy that Watson gave up his ‘lifetime invitation’ to the Masters in 2016, explaining, "I can no longer take the place of younger players." Since Palmer’s passing in 2016, Nicklaus and Player performed the ceremonial tee-offs, and Lee Elder (USA) joined last year but passed away in November. Watson expressed his excitement, saying, "It is an honor to stand alongside the respected seniors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.