Tom Watson wins his final major title at The Open

The 1983 Open golf championship (the 112th), held at Royal Birkdale, Southport from the 14th to the 17th July, was won by American superstar Tom Watson. In winning this, his fifth Open, he successfully defended the Claret Jug, having claimed it at Royal Troon the year before.

Aged 33 at the time of this win, Watson had already achieved a great deal in the game having won the Masters at Augusta twice (1977, 1981), and the US Open (1982) to go with the four previous Open Championships he had already won (1975, 1977, 1980, 1982). He vied with the "Golden Bear", Jack Nicklaus, for the title of world number one for much of this period and the two were often seen at the top of leaderboards tussling for titles.

Although Watson remained a force in the game for many years after 1983, this win was to be his final Major championship to date. He came close to adding to the tally on a number of occasions, most notably at the Open Championship in 2009 (held at Turnberry, Scotland) when, at the age of 59 he was narrowly defeated in a four-hole play-off, losing out to compatriot Stewart Cink.

Watson continues to play on the main PGA Tour (and indeed appeared once again at the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield), and is now also seen on the Champions Tour for professionals aged 50 and over. He has since won numerous titles on that tour, including three (British) Senior Open championships.

Still a popular figure on the circuit today, it is to be hoped Watson will continue to delight golf fans for a few more years yet.

Below is a brief clip from the 1983 Open Championship won by Tom Watson: