Will another veteran contend?
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — First it was Greg Norman, proving for three rounds that age is merely a number. Then along came Tom Watson, just a couple of months shy of his 60th birthday, standing over an 8-foot putt that would have made him the oldest major champion in golf history.
Both Norman and Watson came up short, of course.
But their turn-back-the-clock efforts at the last two British Opens showed it's not unfeasible for someone to win golf's oldest major title when they're closer to Social Security than their prime.
Should we expect another Old-Timers Day at St. Andrews?
Two-time winner Padraig Harrington, who rallied to beat a then-53-year-old Norman in the final round of the 2008 Open at Birkdale, wouldn't be surprised at all.
"One thing with golf," the Irishman said, "experience will always, always counter talent. Talent, yeah, it's good. It's nice to have it. It will certainly show up unbelievable on some days. But experience can always match it, certainly on certain golf courses."
A links course is certainly one of those spots, though Phil Mickelson believes St. Andrews — with the daunting length of certain holes, such as No. 4, and wide-open spaces that invite a player to go with his driver all over the course — is more favorable to a younger player than either Birkdale or Turnberry, where Watson lost to Stewart Cink in a playoff last year at age 59.
"It would not surprise me to see somebody with a lot of experience, a little bit older, play well here," Mickelson said. "However, I do think that some of the younger players who hit the ball a long ways off the tee have a distinct advantage. So I would anticipate that those players would come out on top."
Graeme McDowell, coming off a surprising triumph at the U.S. Open, looks at it differently. Experience counters the mental strain of playing in a major — especially for a player who already has captured a title on one of golf's biggest stages.
"Major championships require patience and discipline," McDowell said. "A guy in his late 50s and 60s is not as long as he used to be, but he has the mental discipline and the patience to realize that you've got to plot your way around."
Mickelson acknowledges the benefit of experience at the birthplace of golf.
He played a practice round Tuesday with 52-year-old Nick Faldo, who captured one of his three Open titles at St. Andrews two decades ago. Sir Nick isn't likely to contend this week, devoting far more time these days to the broadcast booth rather than the driving range, but his local knowledge is invaluable.
"I asked him a bunch of questions because he's got a lot of great thoughts on St. Andrews and avoiding bunkers and shots into the greens and what allowed him to win and be so dominant in 1990," Mickelson said. "He played some of the best golf you've ever seen here."
The late Julius Boros remains the oldest major winner, capturing the 1968 PGA Championship when he was 48. But the old-timers keep knocking on the door.
