Denis Leslie Watson (born 18 October 1955) is a

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

from

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Early life and amateur career

Born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its ...

) Watson was educated at Oriel Boys High School,

Chisipite Chisipite, colloquially known as Chisi is an affluent residential suburb in northeastern Harare, Zimbabwe. It is bordered by Enterprise Road to the north and Eastern road to the east, and Greendale to the south to Lewisam to the west. Begun in ...

. He represented Rhodesia at the

1974 Eisenhower Trophy The 1974 Eisenhower Trophy took place 30 October to 2 November at the Casa de Campo in La Romana, Dominican Republic. It was the ninth World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy. The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team event wi ...

in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

, in the same team as

Mark McNulty Mark William McNulty (born 24 March 1953) is a Zimbabwean-Irish professional golfer. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, and featured in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for ...

, George Harvey and Teddy Webber. The team finished 14th and Watson best Rhodesian player. In August 1975, Watson, together with George Harvey, represented Rhodesia at El Rincon Golf Club in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the largest ...

, Colombia, among 18 two-man nation teams, competing for the Coupa El Rincon over 72 holes stroke-play. The Rhodesian team won, ten strokes ahead of Sweden, and Watson won individually on a score of 7-under par 281, five strokes ahead of

Jan Rube Jan Olov Lennart Rube (born 14 April 1952) is a Swedish former professional golfer, who was one of the best amateur players in Sweden in the 1970s. Early life Rube is grandson of Swedish photographer Arthur Rube. Rube began as a caddie at ...

, Sweden. Watson was awarded Rhodesian Sportsman of the Year in 1975 but would represent

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

as a professional in the

World Series of Golf The World Series of Golf was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. From its inception in 1962 through 1975, it was an unofficial 36-hole event matching the winners of the four major champi ...

in 1980 and 1982. Watson had served in the Rhodesian military during what he described as a "terrorist war" in the early 1970s and would then immigrate to neighboring South Africa to pursue his golf career.

Professional career

Watson turned professional in 1976 and played on the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fif ...

from 1978 to 1980. Relocating to the United States, where he joined the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

, he had his career year in 1984 when he won the

Buick Open The Buick Open was a PGA Tour golf tournament from 1958 to 2009. In 2007, the tournament was held at the end of June, a change from its traditional spot between The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Regardless, many prominent players use ...

NEC World Series of Golf The World Series of Golf was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. From its inception in 1962 through 1975, it was an unofficial 36-hole event matching the winners of the four major cha ...

, and

Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational The Shriners Children's Open is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Nevada. Founded in 1983, it is the fourth event of the Tour's 2019–20 wrap-around season and is played annually in October in Las Vegas. It is currently held at the TPC Summ ...

to tie for the most wins on the PGA Tour that season. Watson finished tied for second in the 1985 U.S. Open, missing out on forcing a

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

by one shot, having incurred a two-stroke penalty earlier in the tournament. The penalty was assessed on the eighth hole in the first round, after he had waited longer than the allowed ten seconds for a putt that had hung on the lip of the hole to drop in. The ball did fall into the hole, but the birdie was disallowed and the penalty strokes added. The

USGA The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

and

The R&A The R&A is the collective name of a group of companies that together play a significant role within the game of golf. Historically, "the R&A" was a colloquial name for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews; in 2004, the club spun of ...

, the sports governing bodies, have since amended the penalty for this rules infraction to just a single stroke.

Andy North Andrew Stewart North (born March 9, 1950) is an American professional golfer who had three wins on the PGA Tour, including the U.S. Open twice. Since 1992, he has served as a golf analyst for ESPN. Early years North was born in Thorp, Wisconsi ...

eventually beat him by one shot. Watson's career came to a sudden halt when he was injured while playing in the 1985

Goodyear Classic The Goodyear Classic was a golf tournament on the South African Tour from the 1984 to 1992. It was generally held in December but in the 1989/1990 season it was held in February. The event was held at Humewood Golf Club in Port Elizabeth, South Afr ...

in South Africa. While hitting his ball out of the rough with a 9-

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

, he struck a tree stump that had been hidden from view causing damage to his wrist, elbow and neck. He went on to win the tournament, but his problems had just begun. He required surgery on his wrist and neck, and was initially told that he would never play again. He did, but was unable to consistently reach the high standard that he had previously attained and after several more operations he retired towards the end of the 1990s. After turning fifty, Watson joined the

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many year ...

, and began to rediscover competitive form. He won the 2007

Senior PGA Championship The Senior PGA Championship, established in 1937, is the oldest of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA ...

Kiawah Island Kiawah may refer to * Kiawah Island, South Carolina Kiawah is a sea island, or barrier island, on the Atlantic coast of the United States. Located southwest of Charleston in Charleston County, South Carolina, it is primarily a private beach ...

, a senior major, by two strokes over Argentina's

Eduardo Romero Eduardo Alejandro Romero (17 July 1954 – 13 February 2022) was an Argentine professional golfer. Nicknamed "El Gato" ("The Cat"), he won over 80 professional tournaments around the world, including eight on the European Tour and five on the Cha ...

, his first win in 21 years. He was voted the 2007 Champions Tour Rookie of the Year.

Amateur wins

*1975 Coupa El Rincon, Colombia (team with George Harvey and individual)

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (3)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Sunshine Tour wins (2)

Champions Tour wins (4)

Champions Tour playoff record (2–0)

Playoff record

Other playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1980 Open Championship)
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order before 2012.'' CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = Disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eise ...

(representing Rhodesia):

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

*Coupa El Rincon, Colombia (representing Rhodesia): 1975 (winners and individual winner)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Denis Zimbabwean male golfers European Tour golfers PGA Tour golfers Sunshine Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers European Senior Tour golfers Winners of senior major golf championships 1955 births Living people