Can Watson bounce back at Sunningdale?
BY Bruce Young | Champions Tour | 2009 Senior British Open | Preview | 23 Jul 2009
One of the strongest fields to ever play the Senior Open Championship tees off at the Sunningdale Golf Club in Surrey this week with Bernhard Langer the favourite to win this event for the first time.
Langer has dominated the US Champions Tour this season in fact his earnings are almost double that of the second placed Andy Bean, his four wins in 2009 highlighting the gap between he and the rest of the Champions Tour.
Greg Norman has yet to win on the Senior or Champions Tour and although he is likely to give a very good account of himself it would seem there are players far more tournament hardened than him in the field and that may work in their favour and against Norman.
Tom Watson is the unknown this week. The three time winner of the event was simply amazing last week at Turnberry but the biggest concern about his chances this week is the possible let down factor.
Last year, after Norman had done so well at Royal Birkdale, many felt he would be a walk up start to win the Senior Open the next week but golf does not always work like that and the same may apply this week. There would be a high percentage of the population however hoping for a bounce-back victory from the 59-year-old.
Tom Lehman and Jay Haas certainly have chances as do Mark O’Meara and Michael Allen. Allen has played just one event on the Champions Tour and it was a winning debut. He won the Senior PGA Championship in May and is playing well enough at the regular tour level to have finished 11th at the recent AT&T event at Congressional.
Australasians who get a start are Peter Fowler, who will play his first Senior Open Championship, Stewart Ginn, Graham Marsh, Noel Ratcliffe, Wayne Grady, Bob Charles and Simon Owen.
