European Tour Insider: Life goes on for Watson

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Tom Watson is playing his second consecutive event in the United Kingdom this week.

How do you follow The Open Championship? Life goes on, Tours go on, but there's always a question: "OK, what now?"

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It's the same with any major. In Britain, it's the same as tennis post-Wimbledon. There are events the following week, but who can name the winner? There's so much intensity about Europe's one major. For a week -- despite talk in England about the Ashes in cricket -- golf is the focus of so much debate. Tom Watson's performance brought events in Turnberry to a much wider audience than just golf aficionados.

There's sympathy for Stewart Cink that despite his undoubted skills in claiming a first major, and despite the absolute class and humility of the man, he will always be almost a footnote to the fairytale of the one that got away for Watson. In this part of the world, just about every newspaper, radio station and television report referred to Watson's Open ... that Cink just happened to win.

NO MOURNING

"This ain't a funeral, you know," said Watson after the agonizing play off on the Ayrshire coast. And to prove that life goes on, he's already setting his sights on the Open for the over-50 set: The Senior Open Championship supported by Mastercard held this week, fittingly, over the Old Course at Sunningdale in England's golfing heartland.

It's similar to the old adage about what to do when you fall off your bicycle: get straight back on again. "Sometimes when you have a big disappointment, as I did, the best thing to get it out of your system is to go play more golf."

European Tour Podcast

Robert Lee and Richard Boxall reflect on Stewart Cink's dramatic win at the 138th Open Championship from Turnberry, look ahead to this week's Senior Open Championship at Sunningdale and the SAS Masters in Sweden, and offer a golf tip from South African Brandon Grace. Click to listen

It's the first time the Senior Open has opted not to use a links course, so it's a different kind of challenge too for Watson: "I've only played Sunningdale once in my life, so I have to go learn how to play this course. The greens are faster than Turnberry, so I will have to change my putting stroke a little."

The 59-year-old starts in a thrilling three-ball alongside former world No. 1 Greg Norman and former Masters champion Sandy Lyle.

The form of Bernhard Langer in the United States this season and Ian Woosnam in Europe means they are among the favorites. Tom Lehman reveled in walking the fairways, watching Watson on Sunday. He, too, will be expected to be among the front-runners this week.

MORNING IN MALMO

The morning and evening light in Malmo is every bit as clear and breathtaking as at Turnberry.

The course by the sea at Barseback is not strictly a links, however. Yes, there are aspects of links golf. There are several holes by the sea, but there are also several that are tree lined, and several more which befit a parkland course.

The course will become the longest ever used on the European Tour. The par 73 weighs in at 7665 yards, and overtakes the record set at the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines.

How do you follow The Open? Well, the Swedes will turn out in force. The numbers flocking to the SAS Masters are always impressive. It's one of the reasons why Sweden is a favorite to host the Ryder Cup in coming years.

And the home fans will hope to cheer one of their own to victory as they did with Peter Hanson at Arlandastad last year.

Henrik Stenson starts as the inevitable bookies' favorite, but Hanson will believe he can go back-to-back. He only lives twenty minutes away.

He came second at Barseback to Luke Donald in 2004, and has enjoyed two other top ten finishes over the course. He's hoping the crowd will help with his energy levels, having played for the last six weeks in a row, including two tiring efforts at majors.

Scotland's Marc Warren won when the event was last held in Malmo. He'll hope a return can kick-start his season, and get him back on track in the Race to Dubai.

AMERICANS IN SWEDEN

I guess whichever event follows The Open Championship hopes it can persuade an American star or three to hang around in Europe. Sweden would one day like Tiger Woods to be present in his wife's home country.

This time James Driscoll has been persuaded to try to make up for the disappointment of missing the weekend in Turnberry, and will therefore play his first regular European Tour event. Will MacKenzie and Kyle Stanley are also on the entry list for the SAS Masters as well as Nathan Smith, who earlier this month posted a top ten finish at the Challenge Tour event in Switzerland.

GONZALO'S GLAD

You may recall a couple of weeks ago, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano was leading into the final round of the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.

Yet he was a troubled man, because his beloved Shar-Pei dog, Petra, had gone missing in Marbella.

He was asked whether he'd prefer to win the tournament or have his dog back, and said: "Believe it or not, I'm going to say: find the dog."

He arrived at Turnberry still dog-less. Asked how he'd respond to the same question about an Open victory, his tune changed: "I'd have to buy a new dog!"

Thankfully, there was no either/or, and all the better: Petra has been found and returned to the doting owner.