16 Jul 2011

Glorious ace turns back clock for evergreen Watson

1:33 pm on 16 July 2011

Five-times champion Tom Watson prompted huge roars from the gallery when he recorded the 15th hole-in-one of his career during the British Open second round.

The American legend, who swings the club almost as gracefully now as he did in his heyday, saw his four-iron tee shot at the 178-yard par-three sixth take one hop before disappearing into the cup.

Watson lifted both arms into the air before celebrating by hand-slapping playing partners Henrik Stenson of Sweden and British amateur Tom Lewis.

Watson's hole-in-one was the second of the tournament, coming a day after compatriot Dustin Johnson aced the 16th in the first round.

He still retains hopes of getting involved in the title shake-up come the final day, saying that if his putting was a little bit better he'd give himself at least an outside chance - Watson is six shots off the joint leaders.

The fans again showed how much of a crowd favourite Watson is, cheering his every move. There were lots of cries of 'Come on, old Tom' and the golden oldie lapped it up.