An undeniable connection
Incomparable caddies link Ouimet, Watson
Despite being the 14th recipient of the Francis Ouimet Award for lifelong contributions to golf, Tom Watson stands alone in sharing a special connection to the award's namesake.
Forever linked to Ouimet and iconically burned into our memories as the 10-year-old go-getter in tight bucket hat and tie was Eddie Lowery, the schoolboy caddie who helped steer his man to golf's most improbable win - the 1913 US Open at The Country Club in Brookline. Similarly, Watson was joined at the hip, with history preserving his long, productive partnership with caddie Bruce Edwards, capped by their own improbable US Open victory in 1982, until a deadly disease intervened.
Yet it took a Vanderbilt University student from Braintree, in front of a crowd that included the daughters of Ouimet and Lowery and the sister of Edwards, to eloquently link the present with the past, all with an eye on the future. That's what makes the annual banquet for the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund, which this year celebrates its 60th anniversary, such a unique evening.
"The dedicated partnership between Mr. Watson and Mr. Bruce Edwards calls to mind the treasured relationship between Francis Ouimet and Eddie Lowery, which is the core of our scholarship," said Rory McGuire, the Ouimet Scholar speaker at Monday's banquet, which was held at the Marriott Boston Copley Place and drew nearly 1,400. Watson was the featured speaker, and was joined by his wife, Hilary. The night also featured Robert McDonald, one of the 13 original Ouimet Scholars and Ted Hansberry, a former Ouimet Fund president, who received the distinguished service award named for Richard F. Connolly Jr.
It was Watson they came to honor, though. He recalled the first time Edwards caddied for him, at the PGA Tour stop in St. Louis in 1973. They clicked from the start: Watson finished sixth, prompting Edwards to ask if he could stay on the bag the rest of the year.
"I said 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's just do it one week at a time,' " Watson said. "Well, one week at a time lasted from 1973 until 1989 . . . then for 10 or 11 more years."
Theirs was a union that delivered cheers and tears. Edwards, a Connecticut native, was on the job for all five of Watson's British Open victories, and he was the one Watson pointed to after he chipped in on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach, breaking a late tie with Jack Nicklaus at the 1982 US Open. Edwards was also still at work in 2003, months after he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. At that year's US Open, the 53-year-old Watson turned back the clock, shot 65, and charged to the first-round lead, with Edwards, overcome with emotion and starting to look frail, soaking up the adulation the two had enjoyed on so many other occasions. It was the two of them the crowds were cheering for, not just Watson. ALS took Edwards's life in April 2004, just before Watson was to start the first round of the Masters. He was only 49.
"The thing I'll remember most about him is the courage with which he died," Watson said. "He knew he was going to die, but he had the courage to face it. 'Carry on,' he'd always say. Those were his two favorite words."
That seemed to be the theme of the night. In addition to Watson's touching remarks about his longtime friend, Ouimet officials announced that the fund, which handed out $4,600 to 13 scholars in 1949, will pass the $20 million mark in total monetary awards to more than 4,600 students over the past 60 years. In trying economic times, the fund will not only maintain its current scholarship levels for the 2009-10 school year, but returning upperclass Ouimet Scholars will receive 10 percent more than last year.
That won't apply to McGuire, who will graduate from Vanderbilt with a degree in communications. He worked six summers at Braintree Municipal Golf Course, starting in the cart barn and working his way up, eventually opening and closing the facility. He impressed on those gathered that his experience at Vanderbilt, where he cofounded and chaired the Relay for Life fund-raiser for cancer research, wouldn't have been possible without his selection as a Ouimet Scholar.
It also sent him to the home of golf. McGuire spent a semester at St. Andrews University in Scotland, where he joined the university's golf club team and, with his teammates, manned the 18th-hole grandstands at last year's British Open at Royal Birkdale. Before likely studying public policy in graduate school, McGuire is going back to St. Andrews, where he's been offered a job as a caddie on the Old Course.
"To be in a place of such historical importance, carrying on the near-sacred legacy of the caddie-player relationship, is truly a dream come true," McGuire said. "I went to St. Andrews with an undeniable love for the game. Now, my appreciation for the history, nuances, and soul of the game is cemented for life."
Then, with a glance at Watson, who can play in the British Open until he's 65 as a former champion, McGuire calmly delivered a veiled proposition, which brought a loud, lengthy chuckle from the crowd.
"If there's anyone in attendance tonight who might happen to be playing in the 2010 Open at the Old Course who's looking for a caddie that week, I might be available."
Michael Whitmer can be reached at mwhitmer@globe.com. 