Tom Watson’s return to Royal Birkdale this week underlined just how deeply the Open is tied to his life story. The five-time champion was back at the course where he won his fifth and last Open in 1983, and his interview there on Thursday morning brought that history sharply into focus.
It is easy to forget how long Watson has been part of the championship’s modern memory. His Open record stretches across 38 years of near-misses, triumphs and returns, from the 1975 British Open at Carnoustie to the 2009 Open at Turnberry, and finally to his last appearance at the Old Course in 2015.
Watson’s presence at Royal Birkdale was also a reminder that his Open connections are not just about trophies. They are about eras, caddies, and the changing shape of the championship itself. In his earlier victories, he was alongside Alfie Fyles, who caddied for Gary Player at Royal Lytham in 1974 and then for Watson at Carnoustie in 1975.
Watson’s Birkdale story still stands out
The biggest chapter in that story remains Birkdale in 1983. Watson won his fifth and last Open there, and that victory still anchors any discussion of his championship legacy. It came after a difficult memory at the same venue in 1976, when he missed the 54-hole cut as defending champion and had Bruce Edwards on the bag.
That contrast says a lot about the Open itself. It can reward patience one year and punish even the best players the next. Watson has lived both extremes, and that is part of why his views carry so much weight when he is back at one of the game’s great venues.
The Open still means something different to Watson
Watson did not try to turn the moment into something sentimental. Speaking about coming up 18 at Birkdale, he made it clear he was treating the occasion with perspective, saying: “This ain’t no funeral.” He also described himself as “a Southport man,” a phrase that fits the connection he clearly feels with the place.
That attitude matches the tone of his career. Watson has always been measured about his own achievements, even when those achievements have been extraordinary. Five Open championships is a remarkable record, but what stands out just as strongly is how often he kept coming back to the same championship and staying relevant in it.
His 1984 near-miss at the Old Course and the playoff loss at age 59 in 2009 only added to that sense of longevity. Few players have remained part of the Open conversation for so long, and even fewer have done it with the kind of authority Watson has built over time.
A legacy that stretches beyond one victory
This week’s interview at Royal Birkdale was another reminder that Watson’s Open story is bigger than a single win, even if 1983 remains the headline moment. He has been part of the championship as a winner, a near-winner and, more recently, as a respected presence tied to Rolex, whose role as sponsor keeps him around the event.
That is why his return matters. Watson does not just represent a successful past; he represents a version of the Open that still resonates in the present. At Birkdale, that history felt close enough to touch.
And with The 2026 Open at Birkdale still to come, Watson’s connection to the venue is likely to remain part of the championship’s story. For a player whose Open life has stretched across decades, that is exactly where he belongs.
