Gentleman Tom doing the unthinkable

After the first round it was a good story. After the second round it turned into a fairy tale. Now, after the third round of the 138th British Open at Turnberry, it has reached the point of being unbelievable. Tom Watson is leading the British Open after 54 holes! It seems like a headline out of 1983, when Watson won the fifth of his five British Opens and eighth of his eight major championships. But it's 26 years later, and two months shy of his 60th birthday, Watson can claim his ninth major Sunday. Watson is a great champion and just as great a person. Despite being one of golf's greatest champions he has always been one of its most accessible players, and exudes kindness with every interaction. After learning at the 2004 Masters of the death of his 30-year caddie Bruce Edwards, Watson denounced the ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) that took Edwards' life: ``Damn this disease! Damn it!'' Watson said with tears welling in his eyes. He has worked tirelessly to raise money to fight the disease since learning of Edwards' diagnosis.
Watson, who won the 2000 Senior Tour Championship at the TPC of Myrtle Beach in the event's final year of a seven-year run on the Grand Strand, is paired in Sunday's final pairing with Matthew Goggin. Goggin is an Australian who lives in Charlotte and receives instruction from Dale Lynch at the new International Institute of Golf in Upstate South Carolina. Lynch also instructs Geoff Ogilvy and Aaron Baddeley. If you're not pulling for Watson to win today, you either know one of the other contenders or you're not human.