Tom Watson Wife: Hilary Watson (PHOTOS, BIO, VIDEO)

Tom Watson’s Wife is Hilary Watson (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Posted on: July 18th, 2009 by: Meg0 comments

Tom Watson is poised at the top of the British Open 2009 leaderboard at the end of day three at Turnberry in Scotland. He has posted a -4 , followed closely by Aussie Mathew Goggin and Englishman Rob Fisher at -3, with just seven players remaining under par.

Watson’s biggest cheerleader at the Open Championship over the last three days has been his wife Hilary Watson, who told a reporter, “It’s just almost surreal, it’s so exciting. We just can’t believe it. He was really relaxed this morning. It didn’t seem to bother him that he was leading. I think even he felt it was a surreal experience.”

Watson admits, “It was probably the most serene I’ve even been on a course.” That’s quite an admission from a guy who transitioned from the PGA tour to the Champion’s Tour in 1999 and will turn 60 years old in just seven weeks.

The oldest winner of the coveted Claret Jug was ‘Old’ Tom Morris at age 46 years 99 days in 1867. A win by Watson would crush that record by 13+ years.

Tom is no stranger to winning. He turned pro in 1971 after winning four straight Missouri State Amateur Championships from 1968-1971. He joined the PGA tour in 1972 and won eight majors; 5 British Opens, 2 Masters and a U.S. Open. The only elusive major has been the U.S. PGA Championship – preventing him from a major grand slam.

Watson divorced his first wife Linda Rubin in 1997 after 25 years of marriage. Their two children are Meg, 29, and Michael, 26. He married Hilary Watson in 1999. She was previously married to Zimbabwe pro golfer Denis Watson, 52, with whom she had three children, Kyle, 23, Paige, 20, and Ross, 18.

According to Denis, it was really awkward when his wife left him for competitor Tom Watson, making it impossible to play in PGA tour events. He eventually married a lawyer and settled in Fort Lauderdale where they are raising five young children. He has had 4 wins on the Champions Tour, which he joined two years ago, including the Senior PGA Championship in 2007 – see photo below.

UPDATE: Sunday July 19 – Stewart Cink made a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation, taking advantage of Watson’s missed putt, and won a four-hole playoff by six shots. His name was immediately engraved on the Claret Jug as the 2009 Open Championship winner and he will have the honor of keeping the trophy until next year.

Watson blinked away tears and the crowd sat in stunned silence. Cink, who hadn’t been atop the leaderboard all week said, “I don’t even know what to say. My hat’s off to him. I speak for the rest of the people here too.”

View more photos of Tom Watson and Hilary Watson and Stewart Cink post win interview below.