Champions Insider: At 61, Watson still has the fire

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Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Tom Watson's surprising win in the 2010 opener (over Fred Couples, no less) was one of the highlights of the Champions Tour season.

After all these years, all the major victories and all the triumphs on and off the course, Tom Watson's approach to a new season hasn't changed.

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It's still about preparation, physical and mental, and it's about a good dose of anticipation.

"I'm looking forward to the year," Watson said. "This time of year is always an anxious time, in the sense that, 'What's the year going to produce?' It's like the start of a race -- you want to get off to a good start."

Watson returns to the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai to kick off the 2011 Champions Tour season by defending the title he won in a classic duel with Fred Couples. Despite a final-round 64 by Couples, Watson claimed the title with a solid display of ball-striking and short game excellence.

Watson shot 6-under 30 on the final nine holes for 65 -- including a 2-3 birdie-birdie finish - after opening with rounds of 63-66. His 194 total was 22-under.

The victory at Hualalai came a week after Watson teamed with Jack Nicklaus to win the Champions Skins Game. Watson and Nicklaus will defend that title next week at Royal Kaanapali Golf Course on Maui.

"It was a wonderful start last year," Watson said. "I'd like to recreate it. I played well. Fred and I traded punches. I got the last punch on the last hole to win.

At the Skins Game, Watson said, "We teamed well. Jack was Jack, he did what he normally does."

And Tom Watson was Tom Watson. He was ready to play when the starter called his name, just as he will be Friday at Hualalai.

"There's an anxiousness," said Watson, not at all jaded by the years. "You want to get off to a good start. It's like the first tee, everybody on the first tee gets nervous. How do you hit the first tee shot well? That's what you practice for. If you do it right, it gets you off on the right foot."

For Watson, that means relying on what he knows and has practiced for a very long time.

"I guess I'm kind of hard-headed," he said. "I do the same things as I did at 22 years old, I just don't do as much, don't hit nearly as many balls or play as much. The most important thing is to get the body in good shape, working on flexibility and strength. At 61, flexibility is paramount, maintaining strength is also high on the list. You lose length when you lose flexibility and strength.

"Essentially that's what I've always done and the goal one step beyond that is to win during the year. That's the primary goal."

A major component of winning for Watson is keeping the short game sharp.

"I constantly work on my short game, my putting and my chipping, and bunker play," Watson said. "That is the part of the game that is not as good as it once was. Sometimes it's as good as ever, other times not."

It was very good in the final round last year at Hualalai. Watson got it up-and-down several times on the front nine to save par and set up his torrid finish.

"That was one of the reasons that I won," said Watson, who expects to play 15 or 16 tournaments this year.

He'll play three "against the kids" -- the Masters, the British Open and the Greenbrier Classic on the PGA TOUR, the remainder on the Champions Tour.

After tending to several projects during the offseason, Watson arrived in Hawaii to concentrate on his preparations.

"Up until that time, I've been traveling," he said. "Been to China looking at a golf course project that may or may not happen, following up and finishing off the instructional book I'm doing with Nick Seitz. We're trying to get that out pretty soon. It's been taking up quite a bit of time, editing, re-editing, deadlines -- you know how that goes."

What Watson couldn't include in his well-received instructional DVD, "Lessons of a Lifetime," will be in the new book. The popular video, released last year, has sold close to 30,000 copies.

"People have responded very well to it," Watson said. "We're getting good feedback. I wanted to add some parts, those parts will be in the book. The book is more thorough obviously, more comprehensive. You can put more in a book."