T. Watson to play British Open beyond 2010
Nov. 18, 2009 - 10:20 AM ET
The R&A has revised its qualifying criteria for the British Open to allow all past champions a five-year exemption after finishing inside the top-10 at the event.
This directly influences the eligibility of 2009 British Open runner-up, Tom Watson, who turned 60 in September and was facing his final start in the major at St. Andrews in 2010 because of the age restriction. "We have introduced this exemption as a direct response to seeing two of our great Open Champions, both in their fifties, challenging to win our championship these last two years," explained Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A, also inferring Greg Norman's T-3 in 2008 at the age of 53.
Source: OpenGolf.com