OUTBACK PRO-AM

The Florida Sun Finally Shines On Watson

By KATHERINE SMITH The Tampa Tribune

Published: Feb 19, 2007

LUTZ - It took a cold snap to break Tom Watson's Florida streak.

Before Sunday, Watson was 0-for-93 in Florida tournaments as a professional.

"It just took some Kansas City weather to make it happen," the Missouri native said.

Watson, one of only six golfers to shoot under par in the chilly, windy final round at TPC Tampa Bay, won the 20th edition of Tampa's senior tournament, capturing the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am at 4-under 209. The eight-time major champion on the PGA Tour was one stroke better than Andy Bean and Jay Haas.

Bean and Haas both birdied No. 18 to finish at 3 under.

It was Watson's ninth win on the Champions Tour and his first since 2005 when he won twice, including the Senior British Open. Last week, he and son Michael finished second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

"The thrill I had playing with my son last week and doing so well carried over to this week," Watson said. "It was a big reason that I played so well this week."

Watson, in one of the three groups that was unable to finish the second round Saturday, birdied his final hole early Sunday morning to get within one of co-leaders Bean and Wayne Levi heading into the final round.

Though enduring a 4:45 a.m. wake-up call made for a long day, Watson never showed signs of drifting off.

"It was so darned cold out here, I woke up," he said.

Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber, Watson's amateur partner, marveled at the champion's resolve.

"Eight-time major champion, he's in the lead on Sunday, in the second-to-last group, it wasn't very good for my golf game, so I can only imagine what was going through his head," Barber said. "He showed why he's a champion. It was good to watch. It was fun to watch."

Haas made things interesting by firing the day's low round, a 2-under 69.

"I owe it all to my putting," said Haas, who had three birdies Sunday. "All those were tough with the wind."

Bean shared the lead with Watson until he double bogeyed the par-5 14th.

"I never struggled the whole day, until I made double there on No. 14," Bean said. "I played very solid the rest of the way in. I had chances at birdies on pretty much every hole. Sometimes you hit a bad shot and I just hit a couple of them on the same hole and it certainly cost me."

A couple of errant shots cost Watson on the eighth and ninth holes when he had back-to-back bogeys, falling to 1 under. He birdied three of the next four holes, but it was his up-and-down saves on Nos. 11, 15 and 17 that Watson credited as the difference.

"Those three pitch shots were kind of the Watson of old," he said. "My short game has not been very good. But [Sunday], it shined when it had to."

Despite the victory, don't expect to see Watson rededicate himself and play more on the Champions Tour. He plans to play in about 15 senior events and will miss the British Open for only the third time in his career so he can walk his daughter down the aisle July 21.

"I know my place, basically, as far as the kids [on the PGA Tour] are concerned," Watson said. "I can play with them on certain courses. I know I can't play with them on courses such as Augusta National. I don't know how long I'm going to compete on that golf course.

"But I still can hit some quality shots."

Reporter Katherine Smith can

be reached at (813) 259-7860

or ksmith@tampatrib.com.