TOUR Insider: Inspired veterans to watch this week

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Remember that kid in elementary school who hogged the water fountain when you came in from recess? He'd wrap his arms around it, press his fat thumb down on the button and guzzle, guzzle, guzzle water until the teacher finally made him let someone else have a turn.

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That's what Tom Watson did a week ago at the Fountain of Youth. He gulped down the time-melting elixir as deeply as he could before being forced to walk away, one mouthful shy of a championship.

Which brings us to this week's RBC Canadian Open. Emboldened by the age-defying feats of Watson, the BENGAY© Brigade stands waiting this week at the Glen Abbey Golf Club for its chance to show those young whipper-snappers that you don't need a 32-inch waist to win on the PGA TOUR.

Kenny Perry, 48, has been a big-time winner out here the last two years and should have won the Masters this spring. Given the success this season of Golden Boys like Watson and Perry, it's probably appropriate that we take a look at the more "mature" players who might contend this week at the RBC Canadian Open. Remember, Canada uses the metric system, so be sure to use the appropriate conversion tables when looking at the age.

(In keeping with the "Old Guys" theme, this portion of the column is brought to you by "Ice Age 3" and by the manufacturers of Fossil leather wallets)

A few possible players who may follow Watson's path to contention

Player: Corey Pavin | Age: 49 He's got three top-25s this year, including a T18 in Milwaukee. Next year, he'll be very busy as captain of the American Ryder Cup team, as well as with the Hall and Oates Reunion Tour. Player: Mark Calcavecchia | Age: 49 Calc's got it going on with wife Brenda serving as caddie. It must work: He has two top-10s this season and tied for 27th at the British Open. If he keeps this up, look for more TOUR wives to stop writing cookbooks and start writing down yardage. By the way, Calc tied for 15th at the Canadian Open in '08 and won it in '05. Player: Tom Pernice | Age: 49 He tied for 15th in Milwaukee last week and will not likely be a player when he ages-up into the Champions Tour. Player: Steve Lowery | Age: 48 He tied for 24th in Milwaukee (notice a pattern developing) and needs to make some money in a hurry because college football practice opens in a few weeks and that means "Hello, Crimson Tide; So Long FedExCup." Player: Scott McCarron | Age: 44 Finally healthy again from elbow surgery, McCarron has found his own Fountain of Youth. He has two top-10s this season in big-time events (Northern Trust Open, HP Byron Nelson Championship). He likes Glen Abbey, too, eh? He tied for fifth there in 2008. Player: Scott Verplank | Age: 45 Like McCarron, he took last week off and comes into the Canadian Open fully rested. Verplank has three top-10s this season, including a tie for ninth two weeks ago at the John Deere Classic. He's looking to become the second consecutive Oklahoma State graduate to win on TOUR, following in the large footsteps of Bo Van Pelt, who won a playoff in Milwaukee. Verplank won the Canadian Open in 2001.

There are probably additional old-guy contenders in the field, but time for research has passed. There's an episode of "Matlock" coming on TV in a minute, and the History Channel has a three-hour block of programming scheduled tonight that'll make you want to take the phone off the hook.