Balky putter keeps Watson from competing on weekend

By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

SOUTHPORT, England -- Tom Watson's putter didn't cooperate, but he'll still be around this weekend.

In the television booth.

Watson, a five-time
Open champion, was frustrated after Friday's 76 that left him at 10 over par and just over the cut line.

"It would have been a lot better if the putter worked a little bit better," Watson said. "I missed a lot of short putts or I'd be in the tournament, frankly. I hit the ball well enough to be playing and competing in the last two rounds and competing for the tournament. But the putter is just awful.

"It's one of those times where you kind of don't know what to do. You get out there, and it gets frustrating, and it seeped into a couple of swings in the back nine. But I still hit enough good shots that I should have been in the tournament, and I'm not. That is the putter's fault, and I'll just have to go back to the drawing board and find a different way of doing it."

Watson will play in next week's Senior British Open at Troon, but TNT and ABC will utilize his expertise this week.

His broadcasting style? "I don't know, you're going to have to describe it for the viewers," he said. "They asked me to do it, and I said, 'I don't want to do that.' But on the other hand, the British Open is not a bad place for you to do it.

"You have a chance to play in it, see the golf course, and tell the viewers what you think of a particular shot. I said, you know what, I probably can do that. Let me give it a try."

He'll also spend a little time working on his putting stroke for Troon, where he won the fourth of his five Opens.

"I'm hitting the ball well," he said. "This is a tough golf course. If we have wind at Troon, I think I'll be able to deal with it, keep the ball in play.

"I drove the ball very well with the exception of a couple drives in two days. That's what you have to do at Troon. You have to put the ball in the fairway. I'm looking forward to it. I have some good memories at Troon."

Watson would have loved being in the fray this weekend with 53-year-old Greg Norman and 47-year-old Rocco Mediate, but now he has the chance to watch Norman try to win his third Open. And he likes Norman's frame of mind following his marriage ?- his second ?- to Chris Evert. Watson can relate. He was married to his second wife Hilary in 2000.

"I think believe in himself is probably the most important thing," Watson said. "He says that he hasn't been there at all for the last five or 10 years, so this type of pressure is something he's going to have to deal with and believe in himself.

"I think he's in a great frame of mind. He just got remarried, and there's kind of a golden aura when you get remarried."

He paused and grinned.

"I've been there."