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Talk about an exhausting few weeks of golf for a golfer who is knocking at the door of 60-years-of age.  First he comes within an 8 foot putt of not only winning the British Open, but becoming the oldest winner in the entire lofty history of the PGA Tour.  Then, not 24 hours later after losing the tournament to Stewart Cink, he's back on the golf course trying to re-hone his skills for tomorrows Senior British Open.

Playing Against His Own Field

The one thing he's got going for him when it comes to the Senior British Open, however, is at least he'll be playing with people his own age, and considering just how well he played against the young folks, we might be seeing some brand new vigor and amazing play out of Watson.  He's got another day to brush up before the first tee-off at Sunningdale.

Watson Sounds Off...

When asked how he's doing this, how his body is holding up and how he's going to get over the loss to Cink and move forward, Watson had some no-nonsense things to say:

"My mom and dad were flexible and in good shape well into their 70s, I come from good genes there...This, too, shall pass...It's onward to the next week and forget what you did in the past, except where it might help you play better golf."

Considering who he is up against at this year's Senior British Open, he's going to have his work cut out for him and he'll be hoping to draw on the same play that got him to the final playoff at Turnberry.  With Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Nick Faldo all playing great golf and being in the field, Watson will be tested from the first shot to the last.

Can He Recreate Magic?

Can he rebound from the loss and play well here, or will the effects, both physical and mental, be too much to help him recreate the magic?  I guess we'll see.

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We said it yesterday, we'll say it again today.  If you told Vegas oddsmakers that by today, Saturday, you'd have a 59-year-old Tom Watson in the lead at the 2009 British Open, and Tiger Woods on the plane home, they'd most likely have laughed you right out of town.  Looks like Watson is the one laughing now as he continues to battle it out at Turnberry, fighting to hold onto his top spot.

Oldest Winner in PGA Tour History?

In the event hat he DOES hold on, he's currently tied for the lead at -3 and through the 14th hole today at +2 for the day, he'd be the oldest winner in the history of the PGA Tour.  In a word, a word we use a lot here:  Wow.  Nevertheless, it's not like the top of the leaderboard is exactly a lonely place this year at Turnberry, at the start of round 3 today, there were a gigantic amount of players within striking distance of the lead.  Currently, there are 39 players all within 6 strokes of the lead and inside of that, 10 players that are only three strokes away.

Weather Changes Everything, Who Can Cope?

Given the extremely flighty and ever-changing weather conditions at Turnberry, absolutely anything could happen to close out today, and even MORE ups and downs could be seen in the final round on Sunday.  The question of who will win will most likely be answered by the same answer to another question:  Who can play consistent, accurate golf no matter what the conditions are doing?

British Open is Wide Open

To say that this tournament is wide-open is a bit of an understatement.  Anything, and I do stress ANYTHING, could happen.  If you're not tuning in to the final round tomorrow, you might want to have your head examined, as it's going to be one of the most exciting finishes so far this year.  Tune in, you won't regret it.

As for us, we'll be rooting for Watson, all the way.

(image via pgatour.com)

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They say in golf, accuracy is more important than power.  They say if you can find the fairway your scores will be lower.  At Turnberry, these old proverbs seem to be more true than almost anywhere else.  That's right, in order to score well, and we're already seeing evidence of this all over the leaderboard, you have to drive well.  Those that are accurate off the tee this week will see success, those who aren't, just won't.

Paul Casey & Peter Kostis Agree:  Driver is Key

When golf.com asked Paul Casey via his Twitter account about this, he had one very simple, very true thing to say:

"Drive the ball well. Look at the two previous Turnberry winners, Norman and Price. Both drove it brilliantly. Same this week."

How true it is.  Watching Tiger Woods miss fairway after fairway, and now seeing him waiting in the wings at +5, desperately hoping to at least make the cut, it shows just how dangerous errant tee-shots can be to your score.  That said, looks like some PGA Pros are making a few driver changes this time around.

Shorter Drivers for More Accuracy?

For some players, that means playing with drivers that are much shorter than their usual clubs.  As you know, a shorter driver usually leads to much more accurate tee shots, but much less power.  In a links course like Turnberry, accuracy once again trumps the need for power.

Fairway Woods Off The Tee?

Who else will be making these changes, and moreover, in Rounds 3 and 4 could we see more players opting for a fairway wood or hybrid off the tee instead of driver?  Will we see more 'choking down' on the drivers out there, shorter clubs or will we just see them stay in the bag?  I guess we'll see, but at least we finally know, Accuracy > Power.   At least at the British Open.

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Well.  Hmm.  I suppose we're a bit lost for words right now.  We waited a bit today to talk about the golf that's being played at Turnberry today, but now that the scores are in and we know what's going down, it looks like Tiger Woods might actually miss the cut at the 2009 British Open and, if so, will be heading home a lot earlier than he, or anyone else anticipated.

Cut Line at +4

As of right this very moment, the projected cut line is sitting right at +4.  On any other Friday, that would be a score that would be ridiculously high and wouldn't even give Tiger a slight concern.  Today, however, after shooting a four-over-par 74 today, and a 1-over 71 yesterday, he's sitting at +5 and one full stroke below the cut line.  In a word...Yikes.  In the event that the cut line does stay exactly where it is, Tiger would miss this cut and it would be only the second time in his entire career that it has happened.  Considering he's been in the Top 10 in 18 of his last 19 tournament appearances, this would be shocking, and upsetting to him.

2006 Last Missed Cut

The last time he missed a cut, was the 2006 U.S. Open and since then he's actually leading the PGA Tour in consecutive cuts made at 38.  Unless something miraculous happens, that streak will end today.

What Happened to Tiger?

All of this brings up a much bigger question:  What happened to Tiger at the British?  Going in, as you already know, he was the 2-1 favorite to win the entire thing, and now it's hanging in the balance if he'll even be able to play tomorrow.  How did his swing fall apart so obviously this tournament, it was visible to see he was leaving everything to the right, and extremely visible that he just couldn't seem to get anything going.

So, what happened?  Anyone want to go out on a limb and make some analysis?

(Image via AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

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If when you went to sleep last night, someone told you that you'd wake up to a first round almost completely in the books, and on top of the leader board at the British Open we'd be seeing Tom Watson, what would you say?  If that person also told you that while Tom Watson, who is 59 years old, shot a five-under-par 65 first round, while Tiger Woods struggled to post a 1-over-par 71, while his playing partner, 17-year-old Ryo Ishikawa whooped him and shot a -2, would you think I was even crazier?  Welcome to the crazy house then, because all of those things have already transpired today.

Tom Watson, 59, Shocks World

That's right, Tom Watson shocked the entire field and the entire golf community today as he shot an opening round 65, blasting away golfers half his age and sitting comfortably tied atop the leaderboard as we speak.  What makes it even more impressive, however, is the simple fact that Watson hasn't played a single round of competitive golf at Turnberry since the 2003 SENIOR British Open.  Yes, I said Senior.  When asked about how he felt about his extremely impressive first round, Watson had this to say:

"I still feel as if I can compete against the kids...I'm a ceremonial golfer at [too long] Augusta National, I admit that."

Watson Demolishes Woods

Considering his first round today included 5 birdies and not a SINGLE bogey, I'd say he is most certainly competing against the kids.  One of those kids just so happens to be the odd's on favorite going into today, Tiger Woods.  Despite the fact that he was favored to win it all, errant shots proved to be his undoing and he was completely outplayed by both Lee Westwood, and the young 17-year-old golfer from Japan we talked about yesterday, Ryo Ishikawa, who both came in at -2.

Can Tiger Come Back?

Can Tiger get it together before tomorrow, or given the excellent play of everyone else, is he in a hole he can't dig himself out of?  If Watson is correct, and the course is playing with its defenses down, we could see scores plummeting.

(Image via Robert Beck/SI)

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If you tuned in to even a single round of the wet, soggy and delayed golf that made up the U.S. Open, you most likely saw a few surprising things.  The most surprising of all being that a vast majority of the Pros taking part in the tournament pulled out their long irons from their bag and replaced them with any number of hybrids.  Due to the wet grass, the soft greens, and even the rain falling from the sky, they needed shots that flew high and landed softly.  For all of you purists, looks like those irons are going to be going directly back into the bag next week at Turnberry for the British Open.

Scotland = Wind

That's right, the course, Turnberry's Ailsa Course in Scotland, is notorious for being extremely windy, and given those conditions and the high trajectory that a hybrid inherently brings, looks like Paul Casey, and others are going to be dropping the woods for their long irons, anywhere from 1-3.  According to Paul Casey's Twitter account:

"Thinking the 5 wood will be coming out and the 2 iron will be making a guest appearance for the Open. No other changes."

Casey Going with Nike Pro Combo OS

When asked by members of golf.com what 2 iron that would be, he responded with a simple: "Still the Nike Pro Combo OS. I have 2 or 3 of them that I'm hanging on to."  Interesting.

What Pros Will Go Irons?

It will be interesting to see what other professional golfers on the PGA Tour will opt out of the hybrid realm and directly back into the long irons that dominated the tour before the hybrid craze took over.  Given the windy conditions, I fully expect the majority of the players to be hitting long irons, and even far less fairway woods unless the distance demands it.  Whatever the case will be, we can't wait to see how Turnberry plays this time around!