Denis Watson

Zimbabwean professional golfer (born 1955)

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

Denis Watson

Personal information
Full name| Denis Leslie Watson
Born|  (1955-10-18) 18 October 1955 (age 68)
Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe)
Height| 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight| 190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationality|  Zimbabwe
Residence| Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Spouse| Susan E. Loggans
Children| 7
Career
Turned professional| 1976
Former tour(s)| PGA Tour
European Tour
Southern Africa Tour
Champions Tour
European Seniors Tour
Professional wins| 10
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour| 3
Sunshine Tour| 3
PGA Tour Champions| 4
European Senior Tour| 1
Best results in major championships

Masters Tournament| T27: 1987
PGA Championship| 33rd: 1984
U.S. Open| T2: 1985
The Open Championship| T15: 1982
Achievements and awards
| Champions Tour
Rookie of the Year| 2007

|

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

## Early life and amateur career[edit]

Watson was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia. He was educated at Oriel Boys High School, Chisipite.

## Amateur career[edit]

Watson represented Rhodesia at the 1974 Eisenhower Trophy in the Dominican Republic, in the same team as Mark McNulty, George Harvey, and Teddy Webber. The team finished 14th and Watson was the best scoring Rhodesian player.[1]

In August 1975, Watson, together with George Harvey, represented Rhodesia at El Rincon Golf Club in Bogotá, Colombia, among 18 two-man nation teams, competing for the Coupa El Rincon over 72 holes stroke-play. The Rhodesian team won, ten strokes ahead of Sweden, and Watson won individually on a score of 7-under par 281, five strokes ahead of Jan Rube, Sweden.[2]

In the early 1970s, Watson served in the Rhodesian military during what he described as a "terrorist war." Watson was awarded Rhodesian Sportsman of the Year in 1975.[3] He would then immigrate to neighboring South Africa to pursue his golf career.[4][5] He represented South Africa at the World Series of Golf in 1980 and 1982.[6]

## Professional career[edit]

In 1976, Watson turned professional. He played on the European Tour from 1978 to 1980. Watson attempted to make it onto onto the PGA Tour at Spring 1981 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He was successful finishing in fourth place.[7] In 1984, he had his career year, recording victories at the Buick Open, NEC World Series of Golf, and Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational. This tied for the most wins on the PGA Tour that season.

Watson finished tied for 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 The R&A, the sports governing bodies, have since amended the penalty for this rules infraction to just a single stroke. Andy North eventually beat him by one shot.[8]

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.[9] He required surgery on his wrist and neck, and was initially told that he would never play again.[4] 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.[10][11][12]

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 21 years. He was voted the 2007 Champions Tour Rookie of the Year.[13]

## Amateur wins[edit]

* 1975 Coupa El Rincon, Colombia (team with George Harvey and individual)

## Professional wins (10)[edit]

### PGA Tour wins (3)[edit]

No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of
victory | Runner-up

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | 12 Aug 1984 | Buick Open | 70-70-63-68=271  | −17  | 1 stroke  |  Payne Stewart
2  | 26 Aug 1984  | NEC World Series of Golf | 69-62-70-70=271  | −9  | 2 strokes  |  Bruce Lietzke
3  | 23 Sep 1984  | Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational | 69-66-68-70-68=341  | −15  | 1 stroke  |  Andy Bean

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result

|
|
|
|

1  | 1982 | Bay Hill Classic |  Tom Kite,  Jack Nicklaus | Kite won with birdie on first extra hole

### Southern Africa Tour wins (3)[edit]

No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of
victory | Runner(s)-up

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | 28 Feb 1981 | Asseng Champion of Champions | 64-68-67-71=270  | −18  | 4 strokes  |  Gavan Levenson,  Mark McNulty
2  | 19 Feb 1982 | Holiday Inns Pro-Am | 70-64-65-69=268  | −20  | 4 strokes  |  Fulton Allem
3  | 21 Dec 1985 | Goodyear Classic | 71-70-72-69=282  | −2  | 1 stroke  |  Trevor Dodds,  David Frost

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (0–2)

No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result

|
|
|
|

1  | 1979 | Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Open |  Simon Hobday | Lost to par on second extra hole
2  | 1980 | Zimbabwe Open |  Hugh Baiocchi,  Allan Henning | Baiocchi won with birdie on first extra hole

### Champions Tour wins (4)[edit]

Legend

Senior major championships (1)
Other Champions Tour (3)
No.  | Date  | Tournament  | Winning score  | To par  | Margin of
victory  | Runner(s)-up

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | 27 May 2007 | Senior PGA Championship | 71-71-69-68=279  | −9  | 2 strokes  |  Eduardo Romero
2  | 26 Aug 2007  | Boeing Classic | 69-69-69=207  | −9  | Playoff  |  R. W. Eaks,  David Eger,
Gil Morgan,  Naomichi Ozaki,
Dana Quigley,  Craig Stadler
3  | 16 Mar 2008 | AT&T Champions Classic | 73-71-65=209  | −7  | Playoff  |  Brad Bryant,  Loren Roberts
4  | 4 May 2008  | FedEx Kinko's Classic | 67-70-69=206  | −10  | 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 by birdie on first hole
2  | 2008 | AT&T Champions Classic |  Brad Bryant,  Loren Roberts | Won with birdie on third extra hole
Bryant eliminated by birdie on second hole

## Playoff record[edit]

Other playoff record (0–1)

No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result

|
|
|
|

1  | 1984  | Tallahassee Open |  Kermit Zarley | Lost to bogey on fourth extra hole

## Results in major championships[edit]

Tournament  | 1979  | 1980  | 1981  | 1982  | 1983  | 1984  | 1985  | 1986  | 1987  | 1988  | 1989

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Masters Tournament |  |  |  |  |  |  | T53  | CUT  | T27  |  |
U.S. Open |  |  |  |  |  |  | T2  | T12  | T36  |  |
The Open Championship | T41  | CUT  |  | T15  | WD  |  | T47  | CUT  |  |  |
PGA Championship |  |  |  | CUT  |  | 33  | T40  | 71  | T40  | T48  |
Tournament  | 1990  | 1991  | 1992  | 1993  | 1994  | 1995  | 1996  | 1997  | 1998  | 1999

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

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Masters Tournament |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
U.S. Open |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
The Open Championship |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
PGA Championship |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | CUT

Top 10

Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1980 Open Championship)
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied

### Summary[edit]

Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2
U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3
PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5
Totals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 13

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

## Senior major championships[edit]

### Wins (1)[edit]

Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up

|
|
|
|

2007 | Senior PGA Championship | −9 (71-71-69-68=279) | 2 strokes |  Eduardo Romero

### Results timeline[edit]

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  |  |
U.S. Senior Open | T5  | T52  | T52  | T53  |  |
Senior British Open Championship | T16  |  | T8  | T41  |  |

Win

Top 10

Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = Disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place

## Team appearances[edit]

Amateur

* Eisenhower Trophy (representing Rhodesia): 1974
* Coupa El Rincon, Colombia (representing Rhodesia): 1975 (winners and individual winner)

## Awards and honors[edit]

* Watson was awarded Rhodesian Sportsman of the Year in 1975.[3]
* Watson was voted 2007 Champions Tour Rookie of the Year.[13]

## See also[edit]

* Spring 1981 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Record Book 1974 World Amateur Golf Team Championships" (PDF). World Amateur Golf Council. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
2. ^ Jansson, Anders (February 1975). "Svensk fullträff i Sydamerica: Andra plats i "par-VM"" [Swedish success in South America: Second place at "World Amateur Pair Championship"]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 7\. pp. 34–35, 46.
3. ^ a b "Brendon de Jonge, Nick Price impress". The Herald. 16 January 2012.
4. ^ a b Blockus, Gary (28 August 1984). "Denis Watson prefers golfing". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. p. C1 - via newspapers.com.
5. ^ Blockus, Gary (28 August 1984). "Watson". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. pp. C4 - via newspapers.com.
6. ^ Urquhart, Craig (1 September 2013). The Kings of Swing: Behind the Scenes with South Africa's Golfing Greats. Penguin Random House South Africa. ISBN 9781770226333 - via Google Books.
7. ^ Gould, David (1999). Q-School Confidential: Inside Golf's Cruelest Tournament. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 268–269. ISBN 978-0312203559.
8. ^ Pye, Steven (15 June 2017). "The golfer who didn't win the US Open because he waited for his ball to drop". The Guardian.
9. ^ Spander, Art (27 October 2007). "Watson's all good after years of failure". East Bay Times.
10. ^ "Watson living proof that perseverance pays off". PGA of America. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
11. ^ Shapiro, Leonard (3 July 2008). "Paying the Price". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
12. ^ Mell, Randall (11 February 2009). "Watson's dreams include win, family". Sun Sentinel.
13. ^ a b Kroichick, Ron (27 October 2007). "Denis Watson relishing life". San Francisco Chronicle.

## External links[edit]

* Denis Watson at the PGA Tour official site
* Denis Watson at the European Tour official site
* Denis Watson at the Official World Golf Ranking 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
* 2014 Colin Montgomerie
* 2015 Colin Montgomerie
* 2016 Rocco Mediate
* 2017 Bernhard Langer
* 2018 Paul Broadhurst
* 2019 Ken Tanigawa
* 2020 Not held
* 2021 Alex Čejka
* 2022 Steven Alker
* 2023 Steve Stricker†

† indicates the event was won in a playoff
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