Tom Watson: “I feel like I can still compete”

Tom Watson has a special affinity for Muirfield. He won The Open here in 1980, and the Senior Open in 2007. The American says there isn’t a weak hole on the course, so we asked him for his memories. 

Muirfield is a course where, like any typical links course, you must stay out of the bunkers. I remember in 1980, when I won, I was putting probably the best of any one particular moment in time of my career. And I just told myself, if I could just stay out of the bunkers and somehow stay out of the rough, I could win the tournament – my putting was so on that week.

You can lose more than one shot out of the bunkers here, because the ball can roll up against the edge and you have no shot. And that’s a chance you take in hitting into these hazards, which they are; they are a hazard. So stay out of them as best you can.

I’ve always enjoyed Muirfield. It’s always been a favourite of mine. I always said it was one of my top choices to play over here. I love the place. I love the feel of it, the smell of it, the taste of it. I love the turf, the feel of my spikes in it. I love the people.

One of the things about the course – and I’ve played here in some friendlies over the years – is that you don’t see any change between the condition of the course when it’s not an Open venue, and when you’re just playing a normal round. The rough is always high, it just depends on how dense it is from the standpoint of the weather, and all you have to do is just beat up the greens, and here is an Open Championship quality course right here. Put in a few ropes and you’ve got a tournament. 

Is the rough fair? Let’s put it this way. There are places where you’re going to lose your golf ball if you hit it in there. The marshals are not going to be able to find some golf balls.

There’s a lot of variety in this course. Some areas you have some wide driving zones, others are very narrow. The beauty of the course is that some areas look narrower off the tee than they actually play. It also rotates in direction, unlike a lot of the links courses where they are down and they are back. So you get a variety of wind directions here, which makes it more enjoyable to play.

The holes I love include the 13th, the par 3 up the hill. That’s a great par 3. And the reason it’s a great par 3 is that the bunkers can be death. One of the great thrills in golf is the uncertainty of what kind of lie you’re going to have when you get to your ball. And on 13, it’s one of those things that, God, if I hit it in the bunker, am I going to be able to play it out or not? Sometimes you put it in the bunker there, you feel like you have a pretty easy shot. Other times, you’re absolutely cold turkey, you cannot play. That’s the stress this course puts on you every time you play, and that’s what I love about it, 13 in particular.

The game has passed me by as far as the distance is concerned. I can’t compete with the kids anymore because of the distance. That’s very apparent. But at The Open, I feel like I can compete given the right conditions.