Denis Watson

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Denis Watson
Personal information
Full nameDenis Leslie Watson
Born (1955-10-18) 18 October 1955 (age 68)
Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe)
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe
Residence Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
SpouseSusan E. Loggans
Children7
Career
Turned professional1976
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
European Tour
Southern Africa Tour
Champions Tour
European Seniors Tour
Professional wins10
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
Sunshine Tour3
PGA Tour Champions4
European Senior Tour1
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T27: 1987
PGA Championship 33rd: 1984
U.S. Open T2: 1985
The Open Championship T15: 1982
Achievements and awards
Champions Tour
Rookie of the Year 		2007

Denis Leslie Watson (born 18 October 1955) is a professional golfer from Zimbabwe.

Contents

Early life and amateur career

Watson was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia. He was educated at Oriel Boys High School, Chisipite.

Amateur career

Watson represented Rhodesia at the 1974 Eisenhower Trophy in the Dominican Republic, in the same team as Mark McNulty, George Harvey, and Teddy Webber. The team finished 14th and Watson was the best scoring Rhodesian player. [1]

In August 1975, Watson, together with George Harvey, represented Rhodesia at El Rincon Golf Club in Bogotá, Colombia, among 18 two-man nation teams, competing for the Coupa El Rincon over 72 holes stroke-play. The Rhodesian team won, ten strokes ahead of Sweden, and Watson won individually on a score of 7-under par 281, five strokes ahead of Jan Rube, Sweden. [2]

In the early 1970s, Watson served in the Rhodesian military during what he described as a "terrorist war." Watson was awarded Rhodesian Sportsman of the Year in 1975. [3] He would then immigrate to neighboring South Africa to pursue his golf career. [4] [5] He represented South Africa at the World Series of Golf in 1980 and 1982. [6]

Professional career

In 1976, Watson turned professional. He played on the European Tour from 1978 to 1980. Watson attempted to make it onto the PGA Tour at Spring 1981 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He was successful finishing in fourth place. [7] In 1984, he had his career year, recording victories at the Buick Open, NEC World Series of Golf, and Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational. This tied for the most wins on the PGA Tour that season.

Watson finished tied for second in the 1985 U.S. Open, missing out on forcing a playoff by one shot, having incurred a two-stroke penalty earlier in the tournament. The penalty was assessed on the eighth hole in the first round, after he had waited longer than the allowed ten seconds for a putt that had hung on the lip of the hole to drop in. The ball did fall into the hole, but the birdie was disallowed and the penalty strokes added. The USGA and The R&A, the sports governing bodies, have since amended the penalty for this rules infraction to just a single stroke. Andy North eventually beat him by one shot. [8]

Watson's career came to a sudden halt when he was injured while playing in the 1985 Goodyear Classic in South Africa. While hitting his ball out of the rough with a 9-iron, he struck a tree stump that had been hidden from view causing damage to his wrist, elbow and neck. He went on to win the tournament, but his problems had just begun. [9] He required surgery on his wrist and neck, and was initially told that he would never play again. [4] He did, but was unable to consistently reach the high standard that he had previously attained and after several more operations he retired towards the end of the 1990s. [10] [11] [12]

After turning fifty, Watson joined the Champions Tour, and began to rediscover competitive form. He won the 2007 Senior PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, a senior major, by two strokes over Argentina's Eduardo Romero, his first win in 21 years. He was voted the 2007 Champions Tour Rookie of the Year. [13]

Amateur wins

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
112 Aug 1984 Buick Open 70-70-63-68=271−171 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Payne Stewart
226 Aug 1984 NEC World Series of Golf 69-62-70-70=271−92 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Lietzke
323 Sep 1984 Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational 69-66-68-70-68=341−151 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Andy Bean

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 1982 Bay Hill Classic Flag of the United States.svg Tom Kite, Flag of the United States.svg Jack Nicklaus Kite won with birdie on first extra hole

Southern Africa Tour wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
128 Feb 1981 Asseng Champion of Champions 64-68-67-71=270−184 strokes Flag of South Africa (1982-1994).svg Gavan Levenson, Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Mark McNulty
219 Feb 1982 Holiday Inns Pro-Am 70-64-65-69=268−204 strokes Flag of South Africa (1982-1994).svg Fulton Allem
321 Dec 1985 Goodyear Classic 71-70-72-69=282−21 stroke Flag of Namibia.svg Trevor Dodds, Flag of South Africa (1982-1994).svg David Frost

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (0–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1979 Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Open Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Simon Hobday Lost to par on second extra hole
2 1980 Zimbabwe Open Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Hugh Baiocchi, Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Allan Henning Baiocchi won with birdie on first extra hole

Champions Tour wins (4)

Legend
Senior major championships (1)
Other Champions Tour (3)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
127 May 2007 Senior PGA Championship 71-71-69-68=279−92 strokes Flag of Argentina.svg Eduardo Romero
226 Aug 2007 Boeing Classic 69-69-69=207−9Playoff Flag of the United States.svg R. W. Eaks, Flag of the United States.svg David Eger,
Flag of the United States.svg Gil Morgan, Flag of Japan.svg Naomichi Ozaki,
Flag of the United States.svg Dana Quigley, Flag of the United States.svg Craig Stadler
316 Mar 2008 AT&T Champions Classic 73-71-65=209−7Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Brad Bryant, Flag of the United States.svg Loren Roberts
44 May 2008 FedEx Kinko's Classic 67-70-69=206−101 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Scott Hoch, Flag of the United States.svg Tim Simpson,
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Nick Price

Champions Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 2007 Boeing Classic Flag of the United States.svg R. W. Eaks, Flag of the United States.svg David Eger,
Flag of the United States.svg Gil Morgan, Flag of Japan.svg Naomichi Ozaki,
Flag of the United States.svg Dana Quigley, Flag of the United States.svg Craig Stadler 		Won with eagle on second extra hole
Eger, Morgan, Ozaki and Quigley eliminated by birdie on first hole
2 2008 AT&T Champions Classic Flag of the United States.svg Brad Bryant, Flag of the United States.svg Loren Roberts Won with birdie on third extra hole
Bryant eliminated by birdie on second hole

Playoff record

Other playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11984 Tallahassee Open Flag of the United States.svg Kermit Zarley Lost to bogey on fourth extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament19791980198119821983198419851986198719881989
Masters Tournament T53CUTT27
U.S. Open T2T12T36
The Open Championship T41CUTT15WDT47CUT
PGA Championship CUT33T4071T40T48
Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open WD
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament20002001200220032004200520062007
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1980 Open Championship)
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament 00000032
U.S. Open 01011243
The Open Championship 00000163
PGA Championship 00000075
Totals0101132013

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
2007 Senior PGA Championship −9 (71-71-69-68=279)2 strokes Flag of Argentina.svg Eduardo Romero

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2012.

Tournament200720082009201020112012
Senior PGA Championship 1T26CUTCUTCUTDQ
The Tradition T9T52T5061T4562
Senior Players Championship T31T2772T11
U.S. Senior Open T5T52T52T53
Senior British Open Championship T16T8T41
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = Disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

Amateur

Awards and honors

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Record Book 1974 World Amateur Golf Team Championships" (PDF). World Amateur Golf Council. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  2. ↑ Jansson, Anders (February 1975). "Svensk fullträff i Sydamerica: Andra plats i "par-VM"" [Swedish success in South America: Second place at "World Amateur Pair Championship"]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 7. pp. 34–35, 46.
  3. 1 2 "Brendon de Jonge, Nick Price impress". The Herald. 16 January 2012.
  4. 1 2 Blockus, Gary (28 August 1984). "Denis Watson prefers golfing". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. p. C1 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Blockus, Gary (28 August 1984). "Watson". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. pp. C4 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Urquhart, Craig (1 September 2013). The Kings of Swing: Behind the Scenes with South Africa's Golfing Greats. Penguin Random House South Africa. ISBN   9781770226333 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ Gould, David (1999). Q-School Confidential: Inside Golf's Cruelest Tournament. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 268–269. ISBN   978-0312203559.
  8. ↑ Pye, Steven (15 June 2017). "The golfer who didn't win the US Open because he waited for his ball to drop". The Guardian.
  9. ↑ Spander, Art (27 October 2007). "Watson's all good after years of failure". East Bay Times.
  10. ↑ "Watson living proof that perseverance pays off". PGA of America. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  11. ↑ Shapiro, Leonard (3 July 2008). "Paying the Price". The Washington Post . Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  12. ↑ Mell, Randall (11 February 2009). "Watson's dreams include win, family". Sun Sentinel.
  13. 1 2 Kroichick, Ron (27 October 2007). "Denis Watson relishing life". San Francisco Chronicle.
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