Why they rank here
Tom Watson inherited the mantle of best player in the world in the late 1970s, dueling Jack Nicklaus in some of the sport's most famous encounters. He won 8 majors, including five Open Championships and two Masters, and his 1977 Duel in the Sun against Nicklaus at Turnberry, where Watson shot 65-65 to win by a single stroke, is regarded as the finest head-to-head in golf history. A brilliant links player and a fearless putter in his prime, he won 39 PGA Tour titles. Remarkably, at age 59 in 2009 he came within an eight-foot putt of winning a sixth Open at Turnberry, losing a playoff to Stewart Cink, the closest any player has come to capturing a major championship in his sixties, a near-miss that stunned the sport.
Career profile
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Head-to-head
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