Even the world’s great golfers want a break every now and then.
And for Tom Watson, winner of eight majors, dozens of PGA Tour titles and generally considered the best golfer of his era who wasn’t Jack Nicklaus, that break has been tipping it up on the Champions Tour every now and then.
“Thank you very much for the opportunity to have one of the world’s greatest mulligans—the Champions Tour,” Watson joked while announcing he’s coming to Calgary for the Shaw Charity Classic at the start of September.
Watson is the latest start to show up for the Shaw event, which is played by past legends of the age who are 50 years or older. Past events included Fred Couples, who won the tournament in its second year, British golfing legend Colin Montgomerie, and Masters winner Bernhard Langer. Last year’s tournament was won by Jeff Maggert.
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Why is Watson coming to Calgary? He said the Shaw Charity Classic’s success—it raised nearly $4-million last year for a variety of children’s charities—was a big lure for him.
Watson said his game is “hot and cold” currently, but added he’s heard many positives about the Shaw Charity tournament and Canyon Meadows, the course where it has been held since its first playing in 2013.
“I’ve heard nothing but good things about the tournament—especially the fan support,” he said. We players love to play in front of a lot of people I hear that’s what happens up there. I’m looking forward to coming up and putting my old bones to the test.”
Watson is perhaps most noted for his five British Open victories, as well as nearly winning the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry at the age of 59. But he added that many courses on the PGA Tour are now too long for him.
“There are courses for horses and at Turnberry that course fit my eye and fit my game,” Watson said. “Even though it was a regular tour event, I felt it was a golf course I could compete on. Augusta National, on the other hand, is not. I can’t play that golf course simply because I can’t carry the golf ball far enough any more.”
Watson said he’s anxious to visit Banff on his trip to Calgary, noting that decades previous his relatives from Missouri would come north to escape the hot summers. He also announced he’s particularly keen on seeing the Calgary Stampede at some point given his interest in horses.
“The one thing I’ve missed out on my bucket list, and my wife’s bucket list, is the Calgary Stampede,” he said. “We’re both into horses and rodeo and we understand that’s a can’t miss event and one of these years we’ll make it up there.”
These days Watson doesn’t play as frequently as he once did, choosing to show up for the occasional Champions Tour event—he played eight times in 2015—as he winds down his days on the PGA Tour. Though his swing looks as timeless and effortless as it did in his prime, Watson admits he can’t hit the ball far enough to be competitive with players four decades younger. With that in mind he announced last year that he’d played his final British Open, and earlier this month competed in his last Masters.
But that doesn’t mean he’s prepared to close the door on competitive golf and become a ceremonial player. There’s been speculation that Watson could become an figurehead at the Masters, especially given the precarious health of Arnold Palmer, who at 86 couldn’t participate in hitting the ceremonial opening shot this year.
Watson didn’t discount the idea, saying he’d show up at the Masters next year just for the Champions Dinner, an event where past winners gather. Watson said he still enjoys listening to the stories of past winners, like Doug Ford, who at 93 still attends the gathering.
In the meantime, Watson isn’t prepared to stop battling on the Champions Tour, where he feels on the right day he can still find himself atop the leaderboard.
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