I didn't learn how to swing a golf club until late in my career. And even though I won all those tournaments, I still struggled with consistency, and I relied on my strengths, which were hitting the ball long and high, and I could chip and putt with the best of 'em.

Tom Watson

I'm very happy with my life. I am what I am. I don't worry about anything that I can't control. That's a really good lesson in life.

Tom Watson

My favorite meal has always been fried chicken.

Tom Watson

No other game combines the wonder of nature with the discipline of sport in such carefully planned ways. A great golf course both frees and challenges a golfer's mind.

Tom Watson

I'd rather fight 100 structure fires than a wildfire. With a structure fire you know where your flames are, but in the woods it can move anywhere; it can come right up behind you.

Tom Watson

A lot of guys who have never choked have never been in the position to do so.

Tom Watson

Golf is a game of ego, but it is also a game of integrity: the most important thing is you do what is right when no one is looking.

Tom Watson

Sometimes thinking too much can destroy your momentum.

Tom Watson

When you come off that last hole and you've just finished a good round of golf, life is good. When you come off that last hole and you messed it up through four or five holes and just played a lousy round of golf, it's just not a very good day. It just isn't.

Tom Watson

I didn't learn how to swing a golf club until late in my career. And even though I won all those tournaments, I still struggled with consistency, and I relied on my strengths, which were hitting the ball long and high, and I could chip and putt with the best of 'em.

Tom Watson

Some guys have trouble sleeping the night before an important round. I never have. Invariably, I sleep longer and better, and have more dreams, when I'm in contention and feeling pressure.

Tom Watson

We tournament golfers are much overrated. We get paid to much.

Tom Watson

My father wasn't a hard guy. He was a well-liked guy. He had a lot of compassion about things in life. There were rules, but there was also flexibility within those rules. He didn't push me when it came to golf: he just taught me the right way to play the game.

Tom Watson

My career was one of just taking it step by step. I didn't know how I was gonna fare on the professional circuit when I qualified. I didn't know whether I was gonna make a dime. I didn't know anything but this one thing: I had some dreams, and I was gonna work harder than anybody out here to ply my trade.

Tom Watson

It's time for old players like me, old fogies like me, to give it up and let the young players have a chance.

Tom Watson

Confidence in golf means being able to concentrate on the problem at hand with no outside interference.

Tom Watson

I played team sport as a kid and loved it. I played basketball and football throughout high school into college in the intramurals and I loved it. There was nothing like a team.

Tom Watson

I hope that I've been able to treat people with the respect they've shown me. That's basically the tenet you try to live by. I haven't been successful at it all my life, but that's what I strive for.

Tom Watson

Golfers who play a lot of courses often encounter short ledges or retaining walls, and I always had fun hopping down from them. I could jump off something six feet high and land like a cat, no problem. Well, today I can't jump off anything higher than two feet without it just killing me.

Tom Watson

I've said many times, 'You learn to win through not liking to lose.' And that's what I mean by learning how to win.

Tom Watson

I always could putt. Part of my makeup, I always could putt.

Tom Watson