Watson’s Streak of Major Play to End With British Open Absence
Tom Watson, a five-time winner of the British Open, pulled out of the tournament on Monday, saying he had injured a shoulder during a week of golf in Scotland and Ireland while getting ready for the Open.
Watson has played in 21 consecutive British Opens and hasn’t missed a major championship since the 1974 British Open, giving him a run of 87 consecutive majors.
Watson was not available for comment.
“It’s the recurrence of a problem he had a couple of months ago,” his caddie, Bruce Edwards, said Monday. “Tom told me it’s hurting him again--not when he swings the club, but at address.”
Edwards said Watson, who ended a nine-year non-winning streak at the Memorial in June, was protecting himself for the PGA Championship in August.
“He has the PGA Championship next month very much on his mind because that is the major he has not won,” Edwards added.
Only four players--Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player--have won all four of golf’s major championships.
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