Tom Watson.

Tom Watson. Tom Watson, born in 1949, American golfer, the top player on the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) tour in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is a six-time winner of the PGA Player of the Year Award (1977-1980, 1982, and 1984), a five-time British Open champion (1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, and 1983), and a three-time winner of the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average on the PGA tour (1977-1979). Thomas Sturges Watson was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He attended Stanford University, graduating with a degree in psychology in 1971. He joined the PGA tour in 1971 and in 1974 won his first tournament, the Western Open. In 1975 he won the Byron Nelson Golf Classic and claimed his first British Open victory. In 1977 Watson collected four PGA titles--including a win at the Masters tournament--plus a victory at the British Open, and was voted Player of the Year. He continued his success over the next three years, and by the end of the 1980 season he had won 20 tournaments in four years and had been named Player of the Year four consecutive times. In 1980 he also became the first player to collect more than $500,000 in winnings in one year and won his third British Open title. Watson continued to rank among the world's top golfers during the first half of the 1980s, winning three PGA tournaments each in 1981 and 1982, British Open titles in 1982 and 1984, and his sixth Player of the Year Award in 1984. Since then, Watson has won few titles but has continued to finish in the top 10 in a handful of tournaments every year. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.