Watts is making his way back

It was 10 years ago when Brian Watts saved par from a greenside bunker on the 72nd hole to force a playoff at the British Open.

With his left foot firmly in the sand and his right leg bent at the knee and resting on the grass above the bank, Watts pulled out his 58-degree wedge and blasted a 25-yard shot to within a foot of the hole for a tap-in par to tie Mark O'Meara.

Watts had to be a bit of a contortionist to pull off the shot.

Sadly, his body has been contorted ever since.

"It became a downward spiral very quickly," Watts said earlier this week from his home in Westlake, Texas, just northwest of Dallas.

Watts went on to lose to O'Meara by two shots in that four-hole playoff at Royal Birkdale, where the British Open returned this week for the first time since.

The loss still pains Watts, a former four-time All-American at Oklahoma State.

If there is someone who understands pain — physical, mental and emotional pain — it's the 42-year-old Watts, who is now doing everything in his power to return to the PGA Tor so his peers someday can select him comeback player of the year.

Watts' downward plunge began with walking pneumonia and a left hip injury in 2000. Then came surgery to fix the torn labrum in 2001. Then came two herniated back disks, two hip injuries and a torn knee cartilage.

It was around this time Watts literally couldn't bend over to stick a tee in the ground.

Watts soon learned going to a doctor doesn't guarantee a cure, nor does attending every rehab session.

"There's a lot of people I'd like to blame, I just can't mention them," Watts said, biting his tongue. "I've tried a lot of different therapists, doctors and surgeons, all these people who were so special at fixing golfers, and it just hasn't materialized for me."

Staying committed to one rehabilitation approach is tough. Watts has stayed committed to seven. Or is it eight?

"I would try different theories, different scenarios, and you don't just try them for a week," Watts said.

Page 1 of 2

1 2 Next