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Our second instalment of golfs nearly men, sees us take a trip to Royal Birkdale and the 127th edition of The Open Championship. Its the summer of 1998 and Mark O’Meara arrives at Royal Birkdale ranked the number 12 player in the world, just months after his maiden major win at the US Masters aged 41. Up to this point O’Meara’s relationship with the Open Championship could at best be described as steady, with one cut during 13 prior outings, but limited to only two top 10’s.
The 156 strong field that year would face the 7,000-yard Par 70 in gusting winds, thick rough and weather more akin to a cold British Autumn than the height of summer. Among those teeing it up that year was a 17-year-old Justin Rose, who would shoot to fame with his final round 69 leaving him in a tie for 4th. Joining Rose in that year’s field was a little-known Asian Tour player, going by the name of Brian Watts contesting his 6th Open Championship in as many years.
Born in Montreal Canada, Brian Watts played his College Golf at Oklahoma State. A stellar college career saw him bag several high-profile accolades including the 1987 NCAA Division team championship and become a four time all American. Brian Watts would end his College career winning the NCAA Division championship in 1987 aged 21. After graduating, Watts turned professional and Qualified for the PGA Tour at the 1990 Q School alongside fellow rookie John Daly. Watts debut in the 1991 season saw him make just 11 cuts from 29 starts, ending the year 184th on the money list and ultimately losing his tour card. Following that season Watts would eventually find himself on the Asian Golf circuit where he topped the 1993 order of merit and would rack up 12 victories between 1993 and his arrival at Royal Birkdale that summer.
The opening round of the 1998 Open Championship was a who’s who of world golf. Tiger Woods opening round 65 led the way but he was closely followed by the likes of Fred Couples, Nick Price, Davis Love and Vijay Singh. Brian Watts meanwhile began his Open Championship with an impressive 2 under Par 68 placing him in a tie for 12th, whilst Mark O’Meara opened with level par 70. As play moved into day two, gusts of up to 45 mph would be recorded in the afternoon with the forecast described as “changeable” the luck of the draw would certainly be to the benefit of some. Unfazed by the challenging conditions Brian Watt followed up his opening round 68 with an excellent 1 under par 69 and would head into the weekend as solo leader. The tough conditions reducing Tiger Woods to a 3 over par 73, joining Nick Price and the aforementioned Justin Rose in a tie for 2nd on 2 under par.
For those hoping for a weather reprieve, disappointment lay ahead, forecast high of just 14 degrees accompanied by 35 mph winds, would see much of the same. For Brian Watts, finding himself in the unfamiliar role as leader of a major championship, Saturday afternoon would be a battle and not just against the elements. So challenging were the conditions on Saturday, that former world number one Nick Price was humiliated into a back 9 score of 45. Brian Watt to his credit, looked calm, holding not only his nerve but his game. In some of the most testing conditions of the day his third round 1 over Par left him two clear of Mark O’Meara and a chasing pack of Jim Furyk and Jesper Parnevik at +2. For those old enough to remember that weekends play, teenager Justin Rose stole the show, at one point holding the outright lead on the 48th hole, one ahead of his playing partner Watts.
Despite being in uncharted territory, followed by enormous crowds cheering the English teenage sensation, Brian Watts went to bed Saturday night as the only player in the field not over par after 54 holes. On the final day Sunday and Paired with Parnevik, Watts would open with a dropped shot at 4, followed up quickly by a 30ft birdie putt at 5, and after the opening 6 holes the leading 4 players of Watts, Parnevik, Furyk and O’Meara would remain as they started the day. No change with 12 to go. As he made the turn Watts held a one-shot lead over O’Meara and Furyk with Parnevik now 2 shots back at 2 over. Entering the closing stretch bogeys at 12 and 13 for Watts and O’Meara respectively propelled Jim Furyk for the first time this week to the top of the leaderboard in a three-way tie at +1. As Watts made his way to the 15th green, Tiger Woods playing four groups ahead had carded the joint low round of the day a four under 66. Woods was now in a three-way tie for the lead, sat alongside Watts and O’Meara at +1.
That clubhouse lead however was short lived closing with a birdie, O’Meara would go one better closing out his 4 days on level par. Brian Watts playing a hole behind O’Meara would need to pick up a birdie on one of the last two holes to keep his dream alive, and after a nervy up and down for birdie at the Par 5 17th, Brian Watts would head to the 18th once again as joint leader. Finding the first cut of rough off the tee, Watts glanced at the giant yellow score board knowing that nothing less than a par would do. In a cruel twist of fate, a low running approach would find the left greenside bunker. A truly awful lie meant Watts would face having to get up and down for par with only one foot planted in the sand.
As is tradition at the Open Championship both men would battle it out over four more holes, the closing stretch of 15,16,17 and 18, with the cumulative 4-hole score determining the winner of the 1998 Claret Jug. Watts gave himself two looks at birdie in the opening two holes, but sadly would convert neither. O’Meara by contrast opened his four-hole playoff account with birdie at the Par 5 15th and would go onto finish with three straight pars, a final bogey at 18 for Watts shattered his Open dream leaving Mark O’Meara as the winner by two and securig his second major in just a few months.
Whilst Justin Rose’s chip in at 18 and Mark O’Meara’s double major winning summer stole the headlines, Brian Watts courage and remarkable bunker play at 18 should not be over looked. Under the most intense pressure Brian Watts standing one foot out, delivered the most sublime bunker shot to keep his dream alive when it mattered most. To quote Watts in a 2008 interview with The Guardian “You are always trying to play as good a bunker shot as possible but, on that occasion, I made a conscious effort to play the ultimate bunker shot – to hole it”, the ultimate bunker shot it very nearly was. The Open Championship would prove to be a catalyst in Brian Watts career, enabling him to return to the PGA Tour where in 1999 aged 33, his eleven top 25 finishes would take him inside the World’s Top 20. His 2nd place finish at the Open Championship earned Watt’s entry to all four of the 1999 majors and the Players Championship, where he made the cut in all five events posting respectable top 40 finishes in all.
The golfing Gods however can be cruel and after the heartache of the 1998 Open Championship, and at the height of his career, Watts spent the latter end of 1999 plagued with severe back pain, he was diagnosed with a chronic back injury that hindered his play throughout 2000, inevitably losing his PGA Tour card. For Watts the next four years would be a constant battle with injuries, his final PGA tour event coming at the Buick Championship 2005. Sadly, for Watts his career was over, injury denying him his best years and ending his career before he turned 40. With 195 PGA Tour events and 13 Asian Tour wins to his name Brian Watts golfing race had run.
Having tried to prepare his body for one last go at the Champions Tour, following a hip replacement, Watts was never able to get to the fitness levels he desired and sadly the game never returned, forcing him to leave professional golf behind in 2011. Now working as a marketing manager for a High school tech company, Watts In a 2017 interview with Golf Shake explained that he was now solely focused on his three kids, having spent so many years apart travelling the Asian Golf circuit in pursuit of Golfing greatness. The 1998 Open Championship will forever be synonymous with Justin Rose and Mark O’Meara, but lets not forget the tale of the journeyman Asian Tour Pro, who held his nerve in the toughest of conditions, leaving us with his very own piece of magic in the final moments when it mattered the most.
