Tom Watson is back at The Open with Birkdale wisdom
Five-time Open champion Tom Watson is back at Royal Birkdale for the 2026 Open Championship, returning as a Rolex ambassador to share links wisdom and memories of his 1983 Claret Jug. In fresh interviews overlooking the 18th, he stressed that Birkdale’s hard-running test still decides champions — and that Opens remain central to his life.
Key Takeaways
- Tom Watson is at Royal Birkdale for the 2026 Open as a Rolex Testimonee and Open regular.
- He won his fifth Claret Jug at Birkdale in 1983 and last competed in 2015 at St Andrews.
- Watson says today’s Birkdale still plays like 1976, aside from length and some redesigns.
- He favors Augusta-style mobile-phone limits and has no regrets about his 2009 near-miss at Turnberry.
Why is Tom Watson back at The Open?
According to GOLF.com, Watson returns partly because he represents Rolex, an Open sponsor. The bigger reason is personal: Open golf across 38 competitive years remains a core part of his life experience.
He arrived with his wife, Dorothy, after stops at Rolex’s Geneva headquarters and the Wimbledon finals. Readers of Future Tech & AI Wonders will recognize a modern friction he flagged too — phones and betting apps colliding with old-school etiquette.
He last teed it up in the championship in 2015 at the Old Course, yet he still shows up because those Opens helped define who he is.
What did Watson say about Birkdale then and now?
Sitting with a view of the 18th, Watson told GOLF.com the course “is no different now than it was in 1976,” still a hard-running links test. Length has grown and some holes were redesigned, he noted, but the essential challenge has not changed.
That same hole sealed his fifth Open in 1983. As bunkered.co.uk recounted from first-round memory lane, Watson recalled a pressurized 2-iron from 213 yards that he never fully saw land after the crowd closed in “just like the Red Sea.”
He also revisited tougher Birkdale days, including missing the 54-hole cut as defending champion in 1976 — a reminder that the Southport links can humble even its eventual legends.
Does the Open whisperer still have advice for today?
Yes. Watson won all five Opens with Southport caddie Alfie Fyles and still frames links golf as craft over noise — bump-and-run, patience, and respect. He also backed stricter on-course mobile-phone rules, modeled on Augusta National, amid concerns about distraction and betting.
Asked about near-misses, including his 2009 playoff loss at Turnberry at age 59, Watson told bunkered he has no regrets: “No, no. It’s over and done with.” Yahoo Sports also featured him reflecting on Birkdale, Byron Nelson, and those five championships.