Saturday 18 April 2015 23:12, UK
Tom Watson has hinted that next year's Masters could be his last competitive appearance at a major championship.
The 65-year-old looked on course to become the oldest player to make the cut at Augusta last week after he opened with a one-under 71, but a second-round 81 saw him miss out on the weekend.
The two-time Masters champion will bring down the curtain on his magnificent Open Championship career at St Andrews in July, although he joked that he would return for 2016 if he finished in the top 10 at the Old Course.
“The Masters may be my last year next year,” said Watson after firing a creditable two-under 69 in the third round of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina - the first time he has made the cut there since 1998.
“The distance is ebbing away in this old body, and that’s something I have to deal with and understand (that) there’s going to be a time when I have to hang it up. The handwriting is on the wall as far as me competing out here against the kids. They hit it 30, 40, 50 yards farther in the air.
“Even a course like this, if I don’t have a chance to win, I’m taking up a spot of a guy who has the tools to win.”
Watson will return to the PGA Tour next month to play in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club, and he added: “I’ll see if I can compete on that course; I hope it’s running fast.
"I’m still taking it, like they said in Bull Durham, one week at a time, one game, one shot at a time."
Watson is also determined to make the cut in his final Open this summer.
He said: "I know there’ll be some emotion in this old body of mine, playing there. I hope it’ll be on Sunday when I say goodbye to the Open Championship at St Andrews."
