Biography

Tom Watson World Golf Hall of Fame: Year Inducted: 1988

Tom Watson became the first golfer to earn $500,000 in a single season (1980). Of all the players who challenged Jack Nicklaus' supremacy, Tom Watson carved out the greatest legacy. Watson has won 39 events on the PGA TOUR, including two Masters and a U.S. Open and a remarkable five British Opens. Beginning in 1977, Watson won six PGA TOUR Player of the Year awards, and he led the money list five times. Yet it was his head-to-head victories against Nicklaus, 10 years his senior, that cemented him as a player for the ages. The first came at the 1977 Masters where Watson countered Nicklaus' fourth-round charge with four birdies on the closing six holes to win by two. Four months later in the British Open at Turnberry, the two engaged in the most intense and highest caliber sustained battle in the history of major championship golf. Tied after 36 holes, they were paired together in the final two rounds. Nicklaus shot 65-66, only to be beaten by Watson's 65-65. Then in 1982, Nicklaus, gunning for a record fifth U.S. Open, held the lead down the stretch at Pebble Beach. Again Watson counterattacked, finally pitching in for a birdie from deep rough off the 17th hole to produce one of the most dramatic shots ever seen. When he also birdied the 72nd hole, he had won by two strokes and earned his only U.S. Open title. Watson was born Sept. 4, 1949, in Kansas City, Mo. An all-around athlete growing up, the fresh-faced but fiercely competitive Watson was nicknamed "Huckleberry Dillinger." After a good but not spectacular junior career, Watson attended Stanford, where he graduated with a degree in psychology and showed occasional but not sustained brilliance as a golfer. But once Watson joined the PGA TOUR, he showed a determination to excel that soon set him apart. "Tom would never tolerate a weakness," said Lanny Wadkins. "He'd go to the practice tee and beat at it until the darn thing went away." Still, Watson had trouble winning early in his career. At the 1974 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, he took a one-stroke lead into the final round, only to shoot a 79 that dropped him to fifth. He also led after 36 holes the next year at Medinah but again finished weakly. Watson once said, "I learned how to win by losing and not liking it." And he also learned from Byron Nelson, who later became his teacher and mentor. At the British Open at Carnoustie, Watson holed a 20-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to get into a playoff with Jack Newton and prevailed by one stroke in the 18-hole playoff. It would start a pattern of success in the oldest major that best reflected Watson's indefatigable character as a player. Watson won the claret jug four more times, in 1977, 1980, 1982 and 1983. "Tom takes a deep-rooted pleasure at the prospect of the challenge," said his friend and former USGA president Frank "Sandy" Tatum. "What evolves is the focusing of an unusual intelligence on what he is setting out to do." Although Watson was a long hitter who had frequent streaks of superb ball striking and birdie runs, he was even better as a scrambler who could manufacture good scores with what became know as "Watson pars." During his reign as the best player in the game, Watson was a fearless putter who frequently ran birdie chances well by the hole, but seemingly never missed the comebacker. After his glory years ended with his last money title in 1984, Watson's putting declined and he won only three times since.

Professional Majors:

Masters Tournament: 1977, 1981
U.S. Open: 1982Open Championship: 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983

Other Significant Victories: PGA TOUR: 31

1974: Western Open
1975: Byron Nelson Classic
1977: Bing Crosby Pro-Am, San Diego Open, Western Open
1978: Tucson Open, Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, Byron Nelson Classic, Hall of Fame Classic, Anheuser-Busch Classic
1979: Sea Pines Heritage Classic, Tournament of Champions, Byron Nelson Classic, Memorial Tournament, Hall of Fame Classic
1980: San Diego Open, Los Angeles Open, Tournament of Champions, New Orleans Open, Byron Nelson Classic, World Series of Golf
1981: USF&G Classic, Atlanta Classic
1982: Los Angeles Open, Sea Pine Heritage Classic
1984: Seiko-Tucson Match Play Championship, Tournament of Champions, Western Open
1987: Nabisco Championship
1996: Memorial Tournament
1998: MasterCard Colonial Champions Tour:
1999: Bank One Championship
2000: IR Senior Tour Championship
2002: Senior Tour Championship At Gaillardia
2003: Senior British Open, JELD-WEN Tradition

Other Wins:

1980: Dunlop Phoenix
1984: Australian Open
1992: Hong Kong Open
1994: Skins Game
1997: Dunlop Phoenix
1999: Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge (with Jack Nicklaus and Hale Irwin), Diner's Club Matches (with Jack Nicklaus)2000: Hyundai Team Matches (with Jack Nicklaus)
2001: Senior PGA Championship
2004: Wendy's Champions Skins Game

Other Accomplishments:

Player of the Year: 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984Vardon Trophy: 1977, 1978, 1979PGA TOUR leading money winner: 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984Ryder Cup: 1977, 1981, 1983, 1989. Captain in 1993.

References
http://www.wgv.com/hof/member.php?member=1120