A trip down memory lane approaching Tom Watson’s final swing at The Masters

Here’s a look at Tom Watson’s long relationship with Augusta National and The Masters:

Five memories

Early battle with Nicklaus

Tom Watson was just 25 years old and playing in the Masters at Augusta National for the second time — he missed the cut in his first try in 1970 — when he played with Nicklaus in the next-to-last pairing on Sunday in 1975.

Watson shot a 73 and tied for eighth place while Nicklaus shot 68 and won by 1.

Watson has played in the Masters every year since.

The first victory

Watson won his first major championship at the British Open in 1975, but there was still some doubt that he could a lead in the final round entering the 1977 Masters.

Watson proved the doubters wrong when he closed with a 66, including an 18-foot, downhill putt for birdie on No. 17, and beat Jack Nicklaus, whose hopes ended with a bogey on the final hole, by 2 shots.

Victory No. 2

Watson’s other Masters win came in 1981, and it also was a battle with Nicklaus, who entered the final round 1 shot behind Watson.

Watson closed with a 71 and won by 2 shots over Nicklaus and Johnny Miller.

“It is better the second time around,” Watson said at the time. “It is indescribably delicious. It was more of a fight with myself this time.”

A thrill start in 2010

Watson gave the fans Augusta a thrill when, at age 60, he opened with a 67 in 2010. That left him just 1 stroke off the lead.

Watson was inspired by words from his son, Michael.

“He said, ‘Come on, Dad, let’s go out and play a good round of golf,’ ” Watson said. “He didn’t say, ‘For a change.’ But I knew what he was thinking.

“He was saying, ‘Dad, show me. Show me you can still play this golf course.’ You know what? I wanted to show him I can still play the golf course.”

He followed with rounds of 74, 73 and 73 and tied for 18th place.

Another good start in 2015

Watson opened with a 1-under-par 71 last year, making him the oldest player to break par in Masters history.

“At my age, that’s a minor miracle,” Watson said afterward. “It’s fun to be able to at least be in red figures at Augusta National.”

Unfortunately, he followed that round with an 81 and missed the cut.

They said it ...

Jack Nicklaus: “He doesn’t like to lose. That’s reflected in his putting. He makes them when he has to.”

ESPN analyst Andy North: “He still has an awful lot of game. “He’s still very competitive. It kills him when he doesn’t play the way he wants to. But all great players are that way.”

Former USGA president Sandy Tatum: “He created for himself a golf swing that was absolutely out of this world. It’s wonderful. He’s in his 60s and still has got that golf swing. And he has more than a love affair – it’s a passion – to play the game.”

Johnny Miller, in former Star columnist Joe Posnanski’s book “The Secret of Golf: The Story of Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus”: “I never saw anybody — anybody — who was as positive after a bad shot as Tom Watson. It was crazy, really. He just never let it bother him.”

Posnanski, speaking to the Augusta Chronicle on Watson’s final Masters: “It’s going to be more emotional for him at Augusta than he thinks it will be.”

Year by year

Year, Place, Score, Money

2015: T87, +8, $10,000

2014: T93, +15, $10,000

2013: T86, +13, $10,000

2012: T65, +7, $ 10,000

2011: T88, +7, $ 10,000

2010: T18, -1, $94,500

2009: 94, +13, $10,000

2008: T63, +6, $10,000

2007: T61, +9, $10,000

2006: T73, +10, $5,000

2005: T74, +9, $5,000

2004: T76, +8, $ 5,000

2003: T58, +8, $ 5,000

2002: T40, +7, $22,960

2001: T59, +4, $5,000

2000: T73, +7, $5,000

1999: T66, +7, $5,000

1998: T48, +7, $5,000

1997: 4, -4, $129,600

1996: T45, +3, $1,500

1995: T14, -4, $39,600

1994: 13, E, $42,000

1993: T42, +6, $4,940

1992: T48, +2, $3,933

1991: T4, -9, $64,800

1990: T7, -2, $35,150

1989: T14, +2, $19,450

1988: T9, -1, $28,000

1987: T7, +1, $26,200

1986: T6, -5, $27,800

1985: T10, -1, $16,800

1984: 2, -9, $64,800

1983: T4, -3, $22,000

1982: T5, -1, $13,500

1981: 1, -8, $60,000

1980: T12, -4, $7,250

1979: T2, -8, $30,000

1978: T2, -10, $21,667

1977: 1, -12, $40,000

1976: T33, +8, $1,900

1975: T8, -3, $4,500

1970: T61, +9, $0

Tom Smith, tsmith@kcstar.com

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 7:32 PM with the headline "A trip down memory lane approaching Tom Watson’s final swing at The Masters."