Watson and Woods spin timeless, terrific tales for young and old alike

Tom Watson and Tiger Woods are legendary golfers of different generations, and not usually joined at the hip. Yet there they were, as Mike McAllister notes, on one of the most mesmerizing days in Masters history, offering up the kind of bookend storylines that help drive this sport.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The day began with a 60-year-old looking to once again reclaim his youth, and ended with a battered hero seeking to reclaim his good name. Neither one of them owns the first-round lead at the Masters, but that doesn't matter. Both have to be very, very satisfied with Thursday's outcome.

Tom Watson and Tiger Woods are legendary golfers of different generations, but they are not usually joined at the hip, certainly not like Tiger is with Jack Nicklaus, the man whose record he has been chasing for more than a decade.

Yet there they were, on one of the most mesmerizing days in Masters history, offering up the kind of bookend storylines that help drive this sport and, more specific, this tournament.

Watson, continuing his improbable turn-back-the-clock run at majors, went out in the morning and shot a 5-under 67, taking the clubhouse lead at that point. That 67 tied the lowest round Watson has ever shot in his 37 years coming to Augusta National.

Phil Mickelson, who finished a little while later, did not know what Watson had shot until he was told in the Masters press room. Phil's first reaction? A look of disbelief ... and then one simple word. "Wow."

That's the reaction most people seemed to have, if only because no 50-year-old -- much less a 60-year-old -- has ever won a major. Not that Watson is thinking that far ahead. He knows that the tees were up Thursday, the pins were in generous spots and that scoring conditions were ripe, allowing for an experienced old hand such as himself to make some noise.

He also knows the course will play longer and tougher as the week goes on, that Masters officials will not be as kind, and that three more rounds is a long ways to go before dreaming of being in contention on the back nine Sunday like at Turnberry last summer.

Despite his spot on the leaderboard -- one shot behind another Champions Tour player, 50-year-old Fred Couples -- Watson still believes Augusta National is too long for him to truly be competitive for 72 holes.

"In my perspective," he said, "I felt better with a links course in my hands than Augusta National."

And yet we've reached the point that perhaps we should stop underestimating and underrating his chances.

"The tendency would be to look at his score and think, well, it was one good round but we still have three more," Mickelson said. "After what he did at the British Open, you could think he could keep this up. He's going to be a real factor in this event. I would not be surprised if he was."

Anybody surprised that Tiger is in the hunt? Didn't think so. Sure, there were questions about his mindset. Would he be focused? Would there be distractions? And there were questions about his game. Would he be rusty? Shouldn't he have played a tune-up event?

Inside the ropes, though, Tiger has not changed. Physically, he feels good, and mentally, he realizes that golf offers him relief. As he mentioned after his 4-under 68 that puts him in striking distance, two shots off Couples' lead, Woods simply said: "It felt normal."

The biggest question, of course, would be the reception from the patrons. In the end, perhaps there was too much made of that. It's pretty simple -- golf fans want to see Tiger play golf. Or rather, they want to see Tiger play championship-winning golf.

After he split the fairway with his opening tee shot Thursday, a father turned to his smiling son along the ropes and said, "I hope he shoots 64 today." The boy, perhaps 10 years old, maybe a little younger, piped up: "I do, too!"

Thirty seconds later, a man felt the tap on his shoulder from an acquaintance. As Tiger strode down the fairway, the man turned to his friend and said, "You think the fans will accept him back?" Before even getting a response, he answered his own question. "I think they already have."

Have they? Has Watson?

You may recall that Tiger's private-life stumble prompted a response from Watson in early February, a reprimand -- or perhaps more of a suggestion -- from an elder statesman to the younger superstar. In essence, Watson said Woods should "clean up his act" and "respect the game."

Those are two things that Woods has repeatedly promised to do since returning to the public eye. Those are not things he can solve overnight.

But on this day, on Thursday in the first round of the Masters, the stories involved the competition. It involved two players of different ages -- with a combined 22 major victories between them -- providing an all-day thrill ride for those lucky enough to attend.

Let's hope the next three days are as equally satisfying.