When we think through the true greats of the game of golf the names of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy roll off the tongue with ease but one man who is often forgotten about in the modern day is Tom Watson.
The now 75-year-old Watson is one of the most successful golfers the PGA Tour has ever seen but for reasons unknown, he’s often overlooked.
Not that there is any reason to overlook the great American. Far from it, in fact.
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Watson is an eight-time major champion, tenth on the list of all-time PGA Tour wins and in 2009, nearly achieved what many though impossible as he just came up short against Stewart Cink at The Open.
Nevertheless, Watson’s name is already etched into the history and fabric of the game we love and it’s all down to a remarkable run of success in the 1980s.
Tom Watson’s golf legacy after a remarkable run in the ’80s
If you’re an eight-time major winner like Tom Watson, then there really should be no question marks over your career and in golf circles with people who know the game, there aren’t those question marks.
Indeed, we only need to go back to 1980 onwards to look at just how good and dominant Watson was.
Take 1980 as a standalone, for example. Watson finished inside the top ten 16 times, won six PGA Tour events, and secured another Open Championship at Muirfield.
On top of that, he was the leading money maker on tour that year.
Crucially though, Watson did not stop and rest on that one year of greatness.
He followed it up by winning the Masters in 1981, secured a fourth Open title and a US Open title in 82, and then landed and retained the Open again in 83, before only missing out on a three-peat in 84 as he finished second to Seve Ballesteros.
Watson’s consistency was unparalleled in the decade. After winning The Masters in 81, he finished in the top ten in nine of the next ten tournaments at Augusta, albeit he never went on to win it again.
All in all, the 1980s brought Watson 22 top ten finishes in the majors, with five wins and three runner-up spots among those 22.
When you look at the modern day golfer, only Scottie Scheffler looks close to getting to this sort of level, which just shows how good Watson was.