TURNBERRY, Scotland -- Tom Watson took three practice swings without a club in his hand, then looked toward the green and pictured the shot he needed to play.
Standing on the edge of the fairway, a marshal who had seen Watson work his magic at Turnberry for three decades whispered in his thick brogue, lost in time as he watched a 59-year-old champion leading the British Open.
"What are you going to do, Tom?" he said. "Cut a wee 7-iron in there? Throw an 8-iron into the air?"
Then shaking his head with a smile, he added in his Scottish brogue, "Fantastic story, aye?"
Watson is turning this British Open into a fairy tale.
Even as he slipped out of the lead Saturday in the testing breeze off the Firth of Clyde, Watson didn't blink except to hold back the occasional tears. He is close enough to the claret jug to believe he can win again.
A 30-foot birdie putt on the 16th gave him a share of the lead.
Then came a hybrid 2-iron that took a bounce to the left and onto the green, setting up another birdie.
When he walked up the 18th fairway, his name atop the massive yellow leaderboard, Watson had a 1-over 71 for a one-shot lead, leaving him 18 holes away from becoming the oldest major champion in history.
Can this really happen?
Even Watson wasn't sure early in the week. Now, those doubts have morphed into determination.
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