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Tom Watson Ties for Lead at U.S. Open
Aired June 13, 2003 - 14:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All eyes are on a popular golfer, who teed off, tied for the lead today at the U.S. Open. No, it's not Tiger Woods. Try a guy who won the Open 21 years ago. CNN's Josie Karp is keeping score for us at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois. Tom Watson, I think he is sitting at about three under, though, today, right?
JOSIE KARP, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's four shots off the pace now. He had an incredible round yesterday, and today because of that, everywhere he went, this 53-year-old was greeted with cheers, because of the round and how incredible it was that a 53-year-old could beat up on the young guns out here, and also because people now know the story of Tom Watson's long-time caddy, Bruce Edwards. This pair has been together for the better part of 30 years, and in January Edwards was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, and because of that Watson and Edwards experienced something yesterday that was overwhelming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM WATSON, GOLFER: Last few holes, it was, there were quite a few tears there for both of us. And it was quite a memory for me to be able to play the last few holes in the U.S. Open, my favorite tournament, most difficult tournament to win, with my friend and caddy for 30 years, Bruce Edwards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You share so many emotions and experiences on golf courses, and when you win tournaments and you have successes, as Bruce and Tom have done, that's the only person that was there right next to you when you played great shots and did great things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARP: Because of that incredible bonds that Watson and Edwards do share, after the round yesterday, Watson, because there was so much attention focused on him, tried to use it to educate people about ALS, about Lou Gehrig's disease. He called it "an orphan disease" and says it's very underfunded. It's possible that it's too late for his friend to benefit if he goes out and can make some sort of statement and get people interested in this disease and to increase the funding, but it is clear, Heidi, that he is going to try to do something in Bruce Edwards' honor.
COLLINS: All right, Josie Karp, thanks so much for bringing us the very latest from the U.S. Open. We certainly hope it's not too late. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 13, 2003 - 14:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All eyes are on a popular golfer, who teed off, tied for the lead today at the U.S. Open. No, it's not Tiger Woods. Try a guy who won the Open 21 years ago. CNN's Josie Karp is keeping score for us at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois. Tom Watson, I think he is sitting at about three under, though, today, right?
JOSIE KARP, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's four shots off the pace now. He had an incredible round yesterday, and today because of that, everywhere he went, this 53-year-old was greeted with cheers, because of the round and how incredible it was that a 53-year-old could beat up on the young guns out here, and also because people now know the story of Tom Watson's long-time caddy, Bruce Edwards. This pair has been together for the better part of 30 years, and in January Edwards was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, and because of that Watson and Edwards experienced something yesterday that was overwhelming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM WATSON, GOLFER: Last few holes, it was, there were quite a few tears there for both of us. And it was quite a memory for me to be able to play the last few holes in the U.S. Open, my favorite tournament, most difficult tournament to win, with my friend and caddy for 30 years, Bruce Edwards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You share so many emotions and experiences on golf courses, and when you win tournaments and you have successes, as Bruce and Tom have done, that's the only person that was there right next to you when you played great shots and did great things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARP: Because of that incredible bonds that Watson and Edwards do share, after the round yesterday, Watson, because there was so much attention focused on him, tried to use it to educate people about ALS, about Lou Gehrig's disease. He called it "an orphan disease" and says it's very underfunded. It's possible that it's too late for his friend to benefit if he goes out and can make some sort of statement and get people interested in this disease and to increase the funding, but it is clear, Heidi, that he is going to try to do something in Bruce Edwards' honor.
COLLINS: All right, Josie Karp, thanks so much for bringing us the very latest from the U.S. Open. We certainly hope it's not too late. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
