The Old Guy Rules

Much is being written about Tom Watson's remarkable showing at the British Open over the weekend, everything to what an extraordinary achievement it was just to be competitive at his age to saying that he choked at the end.  How anyone could say he "choked" after 72 holes of golf where he stood toe-to-toe with the best golfers in the world, many about half his age, and beat all but one, is completely beyond me.  He accomplished what most people thought was impossible, and for that I wholeheartedly salute him.

But what makes Watson's achievement so grand was not WHAT he did but HOW he did it.  In a world of "me-first," self-promoting, selfish, trash-talking, excuse-making professional athletes, Mr. Watson carried himself with dignity and class, even in defeat, reminding all of us that you don't have to be jerk to compete at a high level in sports.  When Sergio Garcia lost to Padraig Harrington at the Open, he made a bunch of excuses and whined to the press, something Tom Watson would NEVER do.  Watson sat at the press conference and answered every question honestly, and in spite of how much it hurt him to lose that tournament at the end, he was smiling when Stewart Cink made his final putt and raised his arms in victory, happy for the man who had just stolen a dream from him.  In a place with so much history and class, Scotland, Tom Watson reminded all of us what a true OLD GUY should be.