# Denis Watson

Denis Leslie Watson (born 18 October 1955) is a professional golfer from Zimbabwe.

## Early life and amateur career

Watson was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia. He was educated at Oriel Boys High School, Chisipite.

## Amateur career

Watson represented Rhodesia at the 1974 Eisenhower Trophy in the Dominican Republic, in the same team as Mark McNulty, George Harvey, and Teddy Webber. The team finished 14th and Watson was the best scoring Rhodesian player.
In August 1975, Watson, together with George Harvey, represented Rhodesia at El Rincon Golf Club in Bogotá, Colombia, among 18 two-man nation teams, competing for the Coupa El Rincon over 72 holes stroke-play. The Rhodesian team won, ten strokes ahead of Sweden, and Watson won individually on a score of 7-under par 281, five strokes ahead of Jan Rube, Sweden.
In the early 1970s, Watson served in the Rhodesian military during what he described as a "terrorist war." Watson was awarded Rhodesian Sportsman of the Year in 1975. He would then immigrate to neighboring South Africa to pursue his golf career. He represented South Africa at the World Series of Golf in 1980 and 1982.

## Professional career

In 1976, Watson turned professional. He played on the European Tour from 1978 to 1980. Watson attempted to make it onto the PGA Tour at Spring 1981 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He was successful finishing in fourth place. In 1984, he had his career year, recording victories at the Buick Open, NEC World Series of Golf, and Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational. This tied for the most wins on the PGA Tour that season.
Watson finished tied for second in the 1985 U.S. Open, missing out on forcing a playoff by one shot, having incurred a two-stroke penalty earlier in the tournament. The penalty was assessed on the eighth hole in the first round, after he had waited longer than the allowed ten seconds for a putt that had hung on the lip of the hole to drop in. The ball did fall into the hole, but the birdie was disallowed and the penalty strokes added. The USGA and The R&A, the sports governing bodies, have since amended the penalty for this rules infraction to just a single stroke. Andy North eventually beat him by one shot.
Watson's career came to a sudden halt when he was injured while playing in the 1985 Goodyear Classic in South Africa. While hitting his ball out of the rough with a 9-iron, he struck a tree stump that had been hidden from view causing damage to his wrist, elbow and neck. He went on to win the tournament, but his problems had just begun. He required surgery on his wrist and neck, and was initially told that he would never play again. He did, but was unable to consistently reach the high standard that he had previously attained and after several more operations he retired towards the end of the 1990s.
After turning fifty, Watson joined the Champions Tour, and began to rediscover competitive form. He won the 2007 Senior PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, a senior major, by two strokes over Argentina's Eduardo Romero, his first win in 21 years. He was voted the 2007 Champions Tour Rookie of the Year.

## Amateur wins

* 1975 Coupa El Rincon, Colombia (team with George Harvey and individual)

## Professional wins (10)
### PGA Tour wins (3)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | 12 Aug 1984 | Buick Open | 70-70-63-68=271 | −17 | 1 stroke | Payne Stewart |
| 2 | 26 Aug 1984 | NEC World Series of Golf | 69-62-70-70=271 | −9 | 2 strokes | Bruce Lietzke |
| 3 | 23 Sep 1984 | Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational | 69-66-68-70-68=341 | −15 | 1 stroke | Andy Bean |
PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
| 1 | 1982 | Bay Hill Classic | Tom Kite, Jack Nicklaus | Kite won with birdie on first extra hole |

### Southern Africa Tour wins (3)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 28 Feb 1981 | Asseng Champion of Champions | 64-68-67-71=270 | −18 | 4 strokes | Gavan Levenson, Mark McNulty |
| 2 | 19 Feb 1982 | Holiday Inns Pro-Am | 70-64-65-69=268 | −20 | 4 strokes | Fulton Allem |
| 3 | 21 Dec 1985 | Goodyear Classic | 71-70-72-69=282 | −2 | 1 stroke | Trevor Dodds, David Frost |
Southern Africa Tour playoff record (0–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1979 | Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Open | Simon Hobday | Lost to par on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1980 | Zimbabwe Open | Hugh Baiocchi, Allan Henning | Baiocchi won with birdie on first extra hole |

### Champions Tour wins (4)

* Legend
* Senior major championships (1)
* Other Champions Tour (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 27 May 2007 | Senior PGA Championship | 71-71-69-68=279 | −9 | 2 strokes | Eduardo Romero |
| 2 | 26 Aug 2007 | Boeing Classic | 69-69-69=207 | −9 | Playoff | R. W. Eaks, David Eger, Gil Morgan, Naomichi Ozaki, Dana Quigley, Craig Stadler |
| 3 | 16 Mar 2008 | AT&T Champions Classic | 73-71-65=209 | −7 | Playoff | Brad Bryant, Loren Roberts |
| 4 | 4 May 2008 | FedEx Kinko's Classic | 67-70-69=206 | −10 | 1 stroke | Scott Hoch, Tim Simpson, Nick Price |
Champions Tour playoff record (2–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
| 1 | 2007 | Boeing Classic | R. W. Eaks, David Eger, Gil Morgan, Naomichi Ozaki, Dana Quigley, Craig Stadler | Won with eagle on second extra hole Eger, Morgan, Ozaki and Quigley eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 2 | 2008 | AT&T Champions Classic | Brad Bryant, Loren Roberts | Won with birdie on third extra hole Bryant eliminated by birdie on second hole |

## Playoff record

Other playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 1984 | Tallahassee Open | Kermit Zarley | Lost to bogey on fourth extra hole |

## Results in major championships

| Tournament | 1979 | 1980 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 |
| Masters Tournament | | | | | | T53 | CUT | T27 | |
| U.S. Open | | | | | | T2 | T12 | T36 | |
| The Open Championship | T41 | CUT | T15 | WD | | T47 | CUT | | |
| PGA Championship | | | CUT | | 33 | T40 | 71 | T40 | T48 |
| Tournament | 1992 |
| Masters Tournament | |
| U.S. Open | WD |
| The Open Championship | |
| PGA Championship | |
| Tournament | 2007 |
| Masters Tournament | |
| U.S. Open | |
| The Open Championship | |
| PGA Championship | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1980 Open Championship) WD = withdrew "T" = tied

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 |
| Totals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 13 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 1

## Senior major championships
### Wins (1)

| Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
| 2007 | Senior PGA Championship | −9 (71-71-69-68=279) | 2 strokes | Eduardo Romero |

### Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2012.
| Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Senior PGA Championship | 1 | T26 | CUT | CUT | CUT | DQ |
| The Tradition | T9 | T52 | T50 | 61 | T45 | 62 |
| Senior Players Championship | T31 | T27 | 72 | T11 | | |
| U.S. Senior Open | T5 | T52 | T52 | T53 | | |
| Senior British Open Championship | T16 | | T8 | T41 | | |
CUT = missed the halfway cut DQ = Disqualified "T" indicates a tie for a place

## Team appearances

Amateur
* Eisenhower Trophy (representing Rhodesia): 1974
* Coupa El Rincon, Colombia (representing Rhodesia): 1975 (winners and individual winner)

## Awards and honors

* Watson was awarded Rhodesian Sportsman of the Year in 1975.
* Watson was voted 2007 Champions Tour Rookie of the Year.