He may or may not
become the dominant senior player in the world next year, but already he
is being viewed as a shot in the arm for a tired tour that has lost most
of its sizzle. Tom Watson's arrival as a full-time player in 2000 will
generate attention -- lots of attention.
The legends around
whom the tour was created and has revolved for so long -- Jack Nicklaus,
Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino -- are mostly sideshows these days.
They are usually
out of sight by the time television cameras roll, leaving the prime air
time to the Allen Doyles and Bruce Fleishers, excellent players with poor
Q ratings.
And that translates
into poor Nielsen ratings, which translates into trouble for a tour that
has lost its personality.
Help, however, arrives
in January in the form of the game's dominant player of the 1980s.
Watson turned 50
in September, placed 22nd in his first event, then won his second and called
it a year.
"I whetted my appetite
for the Senior Tour this year," said Watson. "There are a lot of good players
coming onto the tour in the next couple of years and I look forward to
competing with them.
"But, like Lee Trevino
said, you better get it early, otherwise you're not going to get it at
all."
That's a fact, indisputable
and time-tested. Senior Tour dominance lasts about three years. Just ask
Hale Irwin, whose three-year run as king of the tour was halted this year
by Bruce Fleisher.
Since the tour began,
players between 50 and 54 have won 77 percent of the titles.
It's a quick turnaround
from tour savior to past tense, a fact Watson is acutely aware of.
Watson will have
a running start next year toward his time to dominate, but before the end
of the year he will be joined by Lanny Wadkins and Tom Kite, two more heavyweights
who figure to help reinvigorate the tour.
The tour, remember,
was created and fueled by nostalgia. Times, and the game, have changed,
but a fresh influx of recognizable names is overdue.
"With Jack, Arnold
and Trevino on their downward slides, the marquee names aren't drawing
the crowds any more," Watson said. "But there are a lot of new players
coming out. It's good competition and we have a little bit more fun than
the regular tour. It's a little less serious.
"But still, it's
good, really good, competition. People want to see the new blood and I
hope my blood warms everything up out there just a little."
The players he used
to dominate expect him to do so again.
"If this tour is
a blood bank, he's going to be Count Dracula," Gary McCord said.
