It was the greatest golfing story never told, but Tom Watson has no regrets about missing out on a famous Open championship triumph at Turnberry six years ago.
The 65-year-old American, a five-time Open championship winner, will begin his final farewell at St Andrews today when he competes in the championship for the last time.
Just six years ago Watson almost added his name to the trophy for a sixth time, only for Stewart Cink to spoil a fairytale ending.
Watson missed an eight-foot putt to win the Open, which would have made him the oldest major champion at the age of 59.
Fellow-American Cink went on to win the four-hole play-off, but Watson will not allow the missed putt to haunt him.
He said: “I had so many times in my career where I hit a shot that cost me a tournament, but I had so many times in my career where I hit the shot that won me the tournament.
“They balanced out so I don’t have any regrets on that – it was just the luck of the shot.
“Links golf is about uncertainty, you don’t know the luck of the bounce or what’s going to happen.
“I hit that shot at 18 at Turnberry in 2009 exactly the way I wanted to, and the ball apparently landed almost exactly where I wanted it to, but it landed on just a slight lump on the down slope.
“Had it been a yard short or a yard past it would have been right there.”
Watson revealed a phone call from 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus, who Watson famously defeated in the Duel in the Sun in the 1977 Open at Turnberry, helped console him following the frustration of his missed putt.
He said: “The thing I loved about that tournament was what Jack did. He called me, consoled me and made a joke about it.
“He said ‘You hit that putt like the rest of us would have hit it,’ and that cracked me up because it came from the greatest player in the game.
“He knew how to console me and I love him for it. That helped me in a moment of turmoil and sadness.”
As Watson prepares for his last trip across the Swilcan Bridge he insisted the positive moments from the Open far outweighed the negatives.
He added: “It has defined my career I have to say, and there is a certain sense of melancholy.
“The finality of the end is here.
“But what tempers that very much are the memories and the people I’ve met along the way.
“Over the years I’ve made my share of wrong decisions, but do I have any regrets? The only regret I have is that it’s the end.”