Long about noon on Friday, the ABC sports hierarchy undoubtedly was on the verge of apoplexy.

Tiger Woods had just missed the British Open cut and wouldn’t appear on the network, except via tape, all weekend.

If you wanted to catch Eldrick live, you had to tune into TNT’s coverage of the first two rounds.

Worse, for ABC-TV, it had lost an analyst.

Tom Watson’s name is on the Claret Jug five times ... but the last time it was inscribed was 1983.

The plan was, after he obligingly missed the cut, Watson was booked for the ABC booth from which he would analyze the final two rounds.

But he undermined his own broadcast career.

Watson not only made it to the weekend, he was also leading the tournament ... barely two months from his 60th birthday.

Yet no analysis he might have offered could offset his gift to ABC ... an unexpectedly good audience on a Tiger-less Saturday and Sunday.

As with 53-year-old Greg Norman a year ago, an aging former champion captured the emotions of golf fans everywhere.

WATSON was never one of my favorites.

In his prime, he could be prickly and condescending with the media and rarely showed a sense of humor.

But there’s something about an aging athlete struggling desperately against the inexorable advance of time that strikes a chord.

The Jimmy Connorses and John McEnroes were a lot easier to take in their twilight years.

SAVE FOR par 3, I’m not a golfer, but love watching the majors on TV.

And on Saturday and Sunday, I didn’t miss a stroke, desperately hoping that Watson could finish what 48-year-old Kenny Perry teased us with but couldn’t complete in the Masters.

Part of the reason was that Watson seemed to be enjoying golf more than at any time in his brilliant career.

He knew it was his last shot at winning a tournament of this magnitude and seemed to revel in the attention.

In so doing, he saved ABC’s bacon.

The former Monday Night Football network doesn’t do much golf ... and it shows. Its doesn’t compare to CBS’ Masters or NBC’s U.S. Open coverage.

Worse, ABC was stuck with the British Broadcasting Corporation feed, which had no high-def nor the sophistication of U.S. network telecasts.

No matter, Watson carried the broadcast.

There was the touching moment Sunday when he presented a ball to a female spectator hit by one of his drives and thanked her for the resultant “good lie.”

Then there was the shot of Watson’s playing partner, Mathew Goggin, clapping along with the crowd during a tribute ovation on one of the closing holes.

Winner Stewart Cink did the same thing as Watson putted out on the final playoff hole and the Turnberry crowd afforded him a final standing ovation.

AFTERWARD Cink admitted to mixed emotions, elated at his first victory in a major, sad that Watson was the victim.

My feelings were similar.

Normally, a win by a player perceived as an underachieving American would have been a great story. Instead, it seemed only family and friends were rooting for a skilled player whose only crime was being in a position to ruin Watson’s triumph over time.

Right place, wrong time.

As much as I wanted Watson to win, it was hard not to feel for Cink with virtually everybody pulling against him.

AS IT turned out a missed 8-foot par putt on the 72nd hole cost Watson one of the most remarkable stories in the history of golf.

And he knew it.

Watson admitted, “I put myself in position to win it.”

He then tellingly added, “At the Masters I feel like a ceremonial golfer ... I can’t play that course (Augusta National). But here, (playing links golf) I have a chance.”

Actually, more than a chance.

It was a point made by Rick Reilly.

A brilliant sports writer, Reilly never seems comfortable with the spontaneity of TV and on-camera by-play.

But the essays, which he wrote and narrated, were different.

And his piece on what Watson’s performance did for golf - complete with a verbal/visual shot at Woods’ temper - was perfect.

His point was that a 59-year-old performing at that level to within one made putt of a major served as an inspiration to a nation ... and proved that golf can survive when Tiger’s not playing.

(Chuck Pollock, the Times Herald sports editor, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)

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Reader 4 wrote on Jul 20, 2009 7:17 PM:

" Boy, you talk about lousy coverage on ABC,,,TNT was absolutely the pits! Terrible reporting and camera work for golf in general,,,more less a major! ABC should be punished for showing Tiger slamming his club into the ground during a short clip after the tournament,,very bad taste! "

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reader 5 wrote on Jul 20, 2009 7:19 PM:

" If it wasn't for Watson,,,the viewing would have been nil without the TIGER! Face it,,,he is Mr. Golf, period! "

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