Denis Watson

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

Watson was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe) and educated at Oriel Boys High School, Chisipite. He was Rhodesian Sportsman of the Year in 1975, but went on to represent South Africa in the World Series of Golf in 1980 and 1982 – sporting connections between Rhodesia and Apartheid South Africa were blurred at the time, for example the Rhodesian cricket team was once part of the South African domestic set-up.

Watson turned professional in 1976 and played on the European Tour from 1978 to 1980. After moving to the United States, where he joined the PGA Tour, he had his career year in 1984 when he won the Buick Open, NEC World Series of Golf, and Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational to tie for the most wins on the PGA Tour that season.

Watson finished 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 andR&A, the sports governing bodies, have since amended the penalty for this rules infraction to just a single stroke. On the final day, Watson, starting down the field, set a clubhouse target of even par while the leaders were on the course at four under, then watched as several of those leaders dropped shots over the closing holes to fall back to, or behind, his score. Andy North was eventually the only player to beat him, by one shot despite himself bogeying the last hole.

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. He required surgery on his wrist and neck, and was initially told that he would never play again. 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.^[1][2]

After turning fifty, Watson joined the Champions Tour, and began to rediscover competitive form. He won the 2007 Senior PGA Championshipat Kiawah Island, a senior major, by two strokes over Argentina's Eduardo Romero, his first win in 23 years. In one of the most remarkable comebacks ever seen in professional golf, Watson has become one of the Champions Tour's most competitive stars. He was voted the 2007 Champions Tour Rookie of the Year.

Professional wins (8)

[edit]PGA Tour wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner-up
1	12 Aug 1984	Buick Open	-17 (70-70-63-68=271)	1 stroke	Payne Stewart
2	26 Aug 1984	NEC World Series of Golf	-9 (69-62-70-70=271)	2 strokes	Bruce Lietzke
3	23 Sep 1984	Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational	-19 (69-66-68-70-68=341)	1 stroke	Andy Bean

[edit]Other wins (1)

• 1985 Goodyear Classic (South Africa)

[edit]Champions Tour wins (4)

Legend Champions Tour Major Championships (1) Other Champions Tour (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	27 May 2007	Senior PGA Championship	-9 (71-71-69-68=279)	2 strokes	Eduardo Romero
2	26 Aug 2007	Boeing Classic	-9 (69-69-69=207)	Playoff	R. W. Eaks,  David Eger,  Gil Morgan,  Naomichi Ozaki,  Dana Quigley,  Craig Stadler
3	16 Mar 2008	AT&T Champions Classic	-7 (73-71-65=209)	Playoff	Brad Bryant,  Loren Roberts
4	4 May 2008	FedEx Kinko's Classic	-10 (67-70-69=206)	1 stroke	Scott Hoch,  Tim Simpson,  Nick Price

[edit]Results in major championships

Tournament	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T53	CUT	T27	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T2	T12	T36	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	T41	CUT	DNP	T15	WD	DNP	T47	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	33	T40	71	T40	T48	DNP

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	WD	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

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