Watson's run at Turnberry will not slip from memory

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Tom Watson tied for eighth last week in the Senior British Open in Sunningdale.

Tom Watson was so right.

It wasn't a funeral.

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Oh, the pain was there as he met with reporters at Turnberry nine days ago after the cruelest of twists ended his chance at a sixth Open Championship. You could see it in his eyes. You could feel it in his words.

And those 8 feet. You felt what he felt when the ball came up so terribly short.

But ironically, the fairytale ending that wasn't has turned into a week-long celebration of one of the greatest players in the game and a inspiration to everyone, including the Tiger-centric generation.

Everyone wants to talk Watson.

E-mails from friends who know so little about golf begin with "I was pulling for the old guy." And stories from the past pop up -- "He dated my roommate for a while our freshman year at Stanford.''

The golfers in the inbox and tweets can't believe he held on for so long -- or that he lost. They wonder if he'll play Hazeltine in two weeks if the PGA of America offers him an invitation. Honestly, the chances will be slim and probably none. The course is simply too long for him and, well, it wouldn't be right. Not for Watson. Or for golf.

His game was spot-on at Turnberry. He let his shots ride the wind, then bump and run up to the greens. He found inspiration where others found frustration. He let expectations take a back seat and had fun playing the links game he loves.

And for a weekend, we forgot that Tiger Woods -- the man no one ever seems to tire of talking about -- was back in the States, a victim of his mistakes. That Padraig Harrington was out of it and Sergio Garcia was slip-sliding away. That Lee Westwood was Europe's best hope and Stewart Cink was playing steady, patient golf.

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Stewart Cink: "I feel like that whether Tom was 59 or 29, you know, he was one of the field, and I had to play against everybody on the field and the course to come out on top."

What does it say about a man just thisside of 60 who can grab the focus away from kids younger than his kids? And that we're still talking about those incredible shots -- not the putt at the 72nd hole -- as he heads into his third major in as many weeks with yet another shot to win.

Yes, he'll be front and center this week at Crooked Stick, where U.S. Senior Open week is under way. It will matter what he thinks about the course and his chances. They'll talk about how he's never won this event but had three runner-up finishes -- in '02, '03 and '06. They'll wonder if three majors in three weeks is too much.

But everyone will want to talk about Turnberry.

They haven't stopped.

He had us tweeting and texting and dreaming along with him that final day. His e-mail box was so jammed full that his system crashed. He heard from war veterans and old friends. From Tom Lehman and Butch Harmon and David Feherty.

He had Jack Nicklaus, the man he outdueled at Turnberry decades ago, tearing up, for gosh sakes. Jack sent his first ever text -- OK, Barbara helped -- to his old friend and watched every shot of the final day.

And when the magic moments ended with Cink holding the Claret Jug?

It was Watson who was there consoling everyone. Putting things into perspective. Soothing his son and everyone else who held on tight for the ride of their lives.

We were mesmerized. There was a peace about him that week. A serenity.

There was old Tom Watson making 59 the new 39. Hitting shots the way he did when he won five Opens and when he couldn't lose a then-Byron Nelson Classic. Grabbing the attention of the younger generation who has only seen him swing in clips from majors gone by. Making us believe that he could pull this one out.

We thought back to that chip-in at Pebble Beach at the 1982 U.S. Open that had everyone at home jumping out of their seats. To Colonial in 1998 when he closed with a 66 and won his last PGA TOUR event at the age of 48. To those quiet moments -- good and bad -- reporters share with players over a career.

"I take from this week ... a lot of spirituality in the sense that there was something out there," Watson said that Sunday night. "I still believe that. It helped me along. It's Turnberry. Great memories here. This would have been a great memory."

As it turns out, it really was.

The last time people couldn't stop talking about a major week was Torrey Pines a year ago when Tiger -- on one good knee -- beat Rocco Mediate. Those last three days gave us chills. And honestly, it wasn't one shot we took away from that.

It was the perseverance, the pain and an entire album of spectacular shots.

We seem to have taken the same thing from Turnberry. The gap-toothed grins, the middle-aged man who turned back time on a course where he won his second Claret Jug in that iconic battle with Nicklaus, and a magic week filled with spectacular links shots and pinch-me moments. And, yes, a heartbreaker of an ending for an old hero.

Yet think about it. We can't look back to that week without cracking a smile. Without remembering that swing, that patience, those solitary moments where he would look out at the sea and those high-kicks when putts dove into the hole.

Without knowing, Watson gave us yet another great memory.

One we can't stop talking about.

Melanie Hauser is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.