Denis Watson

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For the political figure in Northern Ireland, see Denis Watson (politician).

Denis Watson
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name	Denis Leslie Watson
Born	(1955-10-18) 18 October 1955 Salisbury, Rhodesia
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Nationality	Zimbabwe
Career
Turned professional	1976
Current tour(s)	Champions Tour
Former tour(s)	European Tour PGA Tour Southern Africa Tour European Seniors Tour
Professional wins	8
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	3
Champions Tour	4
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament	T27: 1987
U.S. Open	T2: 1985
The Open Championship	T15: 1982
PGA Championship	33rd: 1984

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 and R&A, the sports governing bodies, have since amended the penalty for this rules infraction to just a single stroke. 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 Championship at 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)

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

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1982	Bay Hill Classic	Tom Kite, Jack Nicklaus	Kite won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (1)

1985 Goodyear Classic (South Africa)

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

Champions Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	2007	Boeing Classic	R. W. Eaks, David Eger, Gil Morgan, Naomichi Ozaki, Dana Quigley, Craig Stadler	Won with eagle on second extra hole Eger, Morgan, Ozaki, and Quigley eliminated with birdie on first hole
2	2008	AT&T Champions Classic	Brad Bryant, Loren Roberts	Won with birdie on third extra hole Bryant eliminated with birdie on second hole

Results in major championships

Tournament	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	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
Masters Tournament	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
Masters Tournament	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
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament	2nd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	0	3	2
U.S. Open	1	1	1	2	4	3
The Open Championship	0	0	0	1	6	3
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	7	5
Totals	1	1	1	3	20	13

Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice)
Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2007	Senior PGA Championship	−9 (71-71-69-68=279)	2 strokes	Eduardo Romero

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2012.

Tournament	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Senior PGA Championship	1	T26	CUT	CUT	CUT	DQ
The Tradition	T9	T52	T50	61	T45	62
Senior Players Championship	T31	T27	72	T11	DNP	DNP
U.S. Senior Open	T5	T52	T52	T53	DNP	DNP
Senior British Open Championship	T16	DNP	T8	T41	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = Disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances

Amateur

Eisenhower Trophy (representing Zimbabwe): 1974

References

↑ "Watson living proof that perseverance pays off". PGA of America. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
↑ Shapiro, Leonard (3 July 2008). "Paying the Price". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

External links

Denis Watson at the PGA Tour official site
Denis Watson at the European Tour official site

v t e Senior PGA Championship champions

1980 Arnold Palmer† 1981 Miller Barber 1982 Don January 1983 Not held 1984 (Jan) Arnold Palmer 1984 (Dec) Peter Thomson 1985 Not held 1986 Gary Player 1987 Chi-Chi Rodríguez 1988 Gary Player 1989 Larry Mowry 1990 Gary Player 1991 Jack Nicklaus 1992 Lee Trevino 1993 Tom Wargo† 1994 Lee Trevino 1995 Raymond Floyd 1996 Hale Irwin 1997 Hale Irwin 1998 Hale Irwin 1999 Allen Doyle 2000 Doug Tewell 2001 Tom Watson 2002 Fuzzy Zoeller 2003 John Jacobs 2004 Hale Irwin 2005 Mike Reid† 2006 Jay Haas† 2007 Denis Watson 2008 Jay Haas 2009 Michael Allen 2010 Tom Lehman† 2011 Tom Watson† 2012 Roger Chapman 2013 Kōki Idoki

† indicates the event was won in a playoff

Persondata
Name	Watson, Denis
Alternative names	Watson, Denis Leslie
Short description	Professional golfer
Date of birth	18 October 1955
Place of birth	Salisbury, Rhodesia
Date of death
Place of death

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