Watson Upbeat About ‘Game of Failures’ : 5-Time British Open Champ Looks to PGA for 1st Win in 5 Years

Tears streamed down Leonard Thompson’s face after he won his first tournament in 12 years at last month’s Buick Open.

Thompson played more than 300 tournaments without winning after his victory at the Pensacola Open in 1977. That was what Tom Watson had in mind when he said, “Golf is a game of failures.”

“It isn’t like any other sport,” Watson said. “You fail so much more often than you succeed.

“Take baseball. The worst team in the major leagues wins more than 30% of its games. Or look at tennis. The leading players in tennis win a very high percentage of their matches, very high.

“But in golf, if you win 10 or 15% of the time, you’re one of the best, maybe the best. Nobody wins 20%, not over an extended period of time.”

One Win in Five Years

Watson, 39, speaks from experience.

Once the best golfer in the world, the six-time player of the year and five-time British Open champion has won only once in the last five years.

As he prepares for the upcoming PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes Golf Club, however, Watson is ready to win again.

“For the first time in a long, long time I feel I’m in control of my game again,” he said. “It’s a very good feeling, a welcome feeling, a winning feeling. I wouldn’t be surprised if some good things happen for Tom Watson this week.”

Those feelings are based on his performance at last month’s British Open. Watson finished fourth, two strokes out of a three-way playoff for the title.

‘I Had the Chance’

“I gave myself a chance to win,” he said. “I didn’t do it, but I had the chance. If I keep giving myself chances, I’ll win.”

In addition to his British Open titles, Watson has won two Masters and the 1982 U.S. Open. If he wins the PGA, he will become the fifth man to capture golf’s four biggest titles.

Only Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus have won the Masters, U.S. and British Opens and the PGA.

“That’s pretty good company,” Watson said. “I’d like to join them.”

Watson said winning the PGA “is my No. 1 priority in golf right now. It has been ever since I won the U.S. Open. It will be until I win it.”