Watson had led for most of the four days of the tournament, although there was lots of back-and-forth during Sunday. As the tournament progressed, the possibility of Watson winning became a bigger and bigger story.I watched the last three holes while running on the treadmill at ACAC. Watson birdied the 17th, and it looked like he had set himself up perfectly after his drive on the 18th. But his 9-foot par put (which would have won the tournament for him) was significantly short, and he never recovered during the playoff.
Thomas Boswell cites to W.B. Yeats for context on the awesomeness of Watson's performance:
" 'An aged man is but a paltry thing, a tattered coat upon a stick, unless soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing for every tatter of its mortal dress.'
At 59, Watson sang louder and longer than anyone ever has in any of our games. He carried the solo part for 71 holes and nearly four full days of golf. They still play all 72."
