Golf

Victory Just Out of Watson's Reach

59-year-old loses British Open on final hole.

"The old fogey almost did it," Tom Watson remarked Sunday as the chance to ring up a sixth British Open win slipped from his hands on the 18th green. With Tiger Woods missing the cut, the 59-year-old Watson became the crowd's clear favorite. ("By God, can it really happen?" a BBC commentator screamed at the possibility of a Watson win.) Even the tournament's eventual champion, Stewart Cink, seemed sorry for Watson's loss. "I have to be honest," Cink said. "Playing against Tom in the playoff, it's mixed feelings because I've watched him with such admiration all week. And of course it would come down to me against him in the playoff." A win would have made Watson the oldest man to win a major championship in history. "It would have been a hell of a story, wouldn't it?" Watson said.