Tom Watson certainly knew what it took to win a major championship, but particularly The Open Championship.
American icon Watson is an eight-time major champion, with five of those victories having arrived at The Open Championship.
He also won The Masters twice and the US Open once, with countless other awards among his hugely impressive honors list.
But he arguably saved his best golf for The Open, with only Harry Vardon (six) winning the event more times than Watson.
Nick Faldo suggests Tom Watson had a ‘secret’ for winning The Open Championship
His stunning success at the tournament was referenced by his fellow golfing star Sir Nick Faldo back in 2005, when he spoke ahead of The Open at St. Andrews.
He was asked the question: “We always assume players from the UK have an advantage on courses like this.
“Are they as familiar with links golf as maybe you and your contemporaries might have been when you were growing up?”
Would you rather win The Masters or The Open Championship?
Faldo replied: “Maybe not. We don’t play as many links courses throughout the year on Tour. If you know what you’re doing, if you understand through your practice rounds how much release is on each hole, look how Watson used to come over and kill us, simply because he knew exactly what he was doing.
“He was a great ball striker and would land the ball where he intended. That’s the simple secret. You’ve just got to hit the shots that you intend, and you’ve got to be able to adapt to lies and bounce and wind and trajectory, all those sorts of things.”
What happened at The Open in 2005 as British hopes fell short once more?
Despite that secret, there was no repeat success for Watson at St. Andrews that year as he finished T41st.
Faldo meanwhile finished T11 in Scotland, having also been asked beforehand if a British winner was possible, and if so, who.
He said: “The guys have been performing well, so I think we’ve got plenty of players now. It’s who’s got the whatever we want to call it, the 15th club to finish it off.
“I think on this kind of weather and the toughness, obviously Luke Donald has been playing pretty consistent, Lee Westwood is consistent in the wind, and there will be a few of us in the hunt, I’m sure.”
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Unfortunately for Faldo and the home fans, Westwood went on to miss the cut that week, while Donald could only manage a T52 finish.
But there was a firm British contender in the form of Colin Montgomerie, although he could only finish runner-up to American star Tiger Woods, who claimed a five-shot win.
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