Denis Watson will be leading a premier field of 156, May 22-25, in the most historic and most prestigious event in senior golf.

That title, which the 52-year-old native of Zimbabwe carries into the 69th Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in a few weeks, is a remarkable sports story that doesn't grow old.

It serves as another example how golf has energized someone who overcame major obstacles. In Watson's case, it was a 23-year winless streak filled with both soul-searching and making small steps to regain his health.

Watson recounted those feelings and more as the featured guest Monday at the 69th Senior PGA Championship Media Day at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. Watson will be leading a premier field of 156, May 22-25, in the most historic and most prestigious event in senior golf.

Watson's list of injuries, which began in 1985, included wrist and elbow surgery in 1989, followed by cervical fusion in 1991. The latter procedure corrected problems in his neck which began when he struck a golf shot in the rough, not realizing a tree root was underneath his ball.

This season, Watson captured the AT&T Champions Classic in Valencia, Calif., in a playoff and last week won the FedEx Kinko's Classic in Austin, Texas. He has four top-10 finishes in 11 events this season.

He candidly discussed how he had considered giving up golf.

"I went to seen an orthopedic guy and get an MRI done and we got the results back," said Watson. "And, the guy looked at me and said, 'Well, this is pretty bad. You'll never probably play golf again. But you have to have this surgery otherwise you'll lose the function of your hand.' You know, that's pretty shocking to hear those words."

But Watson slowly regained his health and his confidence, culminating in a magical week last year in the 68thSenior PGA Championship on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island (S.C.) Resort.

"It (winning) changed my golfing life," said Watson.

When asked what turned around his performance at Kiawah Island, Watson recounted a golf cart ride he and his wife shared during the second round. Watson had just double bogeyed two holes on his front nine, and then rode in a cart tnat was there to transport players over the long distance from the Ocean Course's 18th green to the first hole.

"I was not a happy camper with that long ride from the 18th green to the first tee. Wasn't happy at all. My wife actually rode in the cart with me, and I didn't really want to talk. And she was saying, you know, it's just a couple of holes. I really didn't need to hear anything at that moment, but, you know, you have a wife you have to listen to her."

What happened next was a memory which Watson said continues to bring out his emotions.

"It's one of those moments in your life where you have something happen that impacts you. Let me get my composure here, because every time I think about this, it hits me. They had restrooms and stuff right sort of on the way to the first tee. There was only one person walking out there. I mean, there were a lot of people out there at the tournament.

"There was one person walking out there, and it was a semi blind person, he had Coke bottle glasses, but also had a white cane to show that he was visually impaired. And he was trying to find his way back to the path.

"You know, you look at this and you think, you know, I was being pretty hard on my self at that time. And I sort of said, 'what right do you have to be unhappy with where you are? It's interesting to me now, it still gets me. And I don't know where this guy came from. I don't know what a blind person's doing at a golf tournament. So I think he was one of my angels that was kind of placed there to kick my behind, and say, hey, you know, you're playing golf. You have it pretty good."

From that point, Watson rebounded on the front nine and went on to victory.

Watson reported that he posted an even-par 72 in his practice round at Oak Hill, and that after only a few hours sleep the night before. He had praise for the historic course.

"What a beautiful golf course!" he said. "I'd heard how great it is. I'd heard what a bear it is, but it's awesome. I can see why it holds the place that it does in golf lore, and I think it's just that you have all these great championships being played here."

Tickets for the 69th Senior PGA Championship may be purchased by visiting www.seniorpga2008.com

Oak Hill Country Club, recognized as one of the finest golf courses in America, has been synonymous with the best in golf. The East Course previously hosted the 1980 and 2003 PGA Championship, the 1984 U.S. Senior Open, the 1989 U.S. Open, the 1995 Ryder Cup and the 1998 U.S. Amateur. It has also been named the site of the 2013 PGA Championship.

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