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 Watts burns bright at British Open
Posted: Friday July 17, 1998 06:07 PM
SOUTHPORT, England (AP) -- Brian Watts was born in Canada, grew up in Dallas, makes his home in Oklahoma and plays golf for a living in Japan. So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that he's leading the British Open. His father, after all, is English. Feeling right at home on a rainy, windy day at Royal Birkdale, Watts put up an early 69 Friday, then went someplace warm and dry to wait as the first-round leaders made their way back onto the course. By the time they finished struggling through the howling winds and driving, late-afternoon rain, Watts' name was all alone atop the leaderboard. "I really had no expectations whatsoever, which is probably a good thing," Watts said. Neither did anyone else, especially those wondering just who Watts was as he took the lead. Unlike Japan, where he can walk down a street and hear people say, "Oh, Brian Watts," few fans at Birkdale seemed to know him. They may find out, though, if he can keep up the pace. He followed his opening-round 68 with a 69 that put him at 3-under 137 after 36 holes on the links course on the Irish Sea. Watts made some mistakes early, with a bogey on the first hole and a double bogey on the par-3 fourth. But he made up for them with five birdies, including a final one on the 17th on a day when par was an accomplishment. Not bad, considering Watts struggled during practice rounds trying to keep the ball in play. "Sunday, Monday and Tuesday didn't give me any belief in the world that I could even make a birdie on this golf course," he said.
The 32-year-old Watts, playing in his sixth Open, has taken a circuitous route to the top of the leaderboard. After turning pro in 1988 out of Oklahoma State, he struggled at first trying to qualify for the PGA Tour and then trying to stay on it. Finally giving up, he began playing in Japan in 1993 and has since become a star on the Japanese PGA Tour, with 10 wins. Watts commutes from his Oklahoma home to the Japanese tour, flying back and forth six or seven times a year and staying at hotels while playing there. The conditions are tougher than on the American tour, but the competition isn't, allowing Watts to make a good living. "Depending on the exchange rate, the best year I had was 1994 when I won five times and I made 139 million yen, which at the time was about $1.4 million," Watts said. He has played an occasional tournament in the United States on sponsor exemptions, and has climbed into the top 50 in the world rankings because of his strong showings in Japan. Watts caused some consternation in Japan in May when he hit two balls toward the ocean in the second round of the Fujisankei Classic in a deliberate attempt to miss the cut. He did, by three strokes. He was fined for that, and also banned from the Japan Open as part of his penalty. "I made a mistake," Watts said, declining to discuss it further. By contrast, he didn't make many Friday while the leaders went backward. Still, Watts was trying to put out of his mind any thoughts of a victory that could give him an exemption on the PGA Tour and eliminate some long trips to Japan. "I'm really not thinking about winning the golf tournament today," Watts said.
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