With two weeks to go until the SA Senior Open Championship, the impressive field has been strengthened with news that Denis Watson has confirmed his entry.
Watson is a multiple winner of events on the Sunshine Tour, including being the runner-up to Gary Player in the 1979/1980 Order of Merit. A former US Open Runner-Up, Watson won the 2007 Senior PGA Championships of the USA – Champions Tour and the European Senior Tour’s associated event respectively. With three PGA Tour and four PGA Champions Tour wins, he will be among the favourites to win at the Plettenberg Bay Country Club.
He will be arriving from the United States, where he now lives, for the chance to add the SA Senior Open to his trophy cabinet. He will also be inducted into the South African Golf Hall of Fame on Wednesday 5 April at the annual banquet taking place at Equinox Flame and Flavour restaurant.
Watson won’t be short of competition for the title however, with Chris Williams coming into the event with some great form after winning the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters this past weekend.
Williams started the final day one stroke behind compatriot James Kingston, but three birdies and an eagle in four holes put him out in front. He later dropped a shot and ended the day level with Gary Marks, forcing a playoff. A par on the first playoff hole was good enough to seal victory and ensure that he lifted the inaugural Sharjah Senior Golf Masters trophy, with Kingston ending the event in a tie for third.
Kingston, a former SA Open Winner himself, Watson and Williams will therefore strengthen a field already comprising McNulty, Baiocchi, Wessels, Bland, Lincoln, Stewart and Hawkes, all winners and accredited players on world tours.
Neville Clarke, from the SA Senior Tour, said: ‘This is the strongest field assembled for a Senior Tour event in South Africa. It will be very interesting to see who comes out on top at the end of the week.’
Denis Watson image: Getty Images
