Tom Watson was a Stanford letter winner in 1969, 1970 & 1971. He was a 2nd team All-American in 1969, 1970 & 1971. He's a member of the Stanford Hall of Fame and the World Golf Hall of Fame. He has won 8 PGA tour major championships including 5 British Opens, 2 Masters and 1 US Open victory. Tom was awarded the PGA Tour's Payne Stewart award in 2003. Some consider him the greatest British Open champion of all time.

In the 1971 Media Guide, Coach Bud Finger said this about Tom - "Tom Watson, a nationally recognized player who competed in the 1970 Masters, is one of the outstanding amateurs in the United States. Watson, a two-time Missouri State Amateur Champion, finished in a tie for 5th in last year's NCAA Championships."

In the 1972 Media Guide it summarized "With Tom Watson leading the way throughout, Stanford started quickly in the Pac-8 Championships to finish 3rd. Watson finished 7th in the tournament. Just a month later in Tucson, it was Watson again leading the Indians, as Stanford finished 8th in the NCAA Championships. The senior from Kansas City fashioned a 4-under par 284 to finish 6th in the race for the individual title.''

From the 1972 Team Outlook, "Tom Watson, certainly one of the longest hitters ever to represent Stanford, will leave an obvious void in this year's team." He is now playing on the professional golf tour, where he is rated as one of the bright young stars and almost a sure bet to one day challenge the select circle of golf's leading money winners."

For many, many years Tom would come back to Stanford and generously host a very popular tournament in his name as a fundraiser for the golf program and Stanford University. This annual Watson tournament was a great favorite for fellow pros, Stanford alums, former players and leaders in the Silicon Valley business community.

The following is from the World Golf Hall of Fame where Watson is an honoree.

"Of all the players who challenged Jack Nicklaus' supremacy, Tom Watson carved out the greatest legacy.

Watson has won 39 events on the PGA TOUR, including two Masters and a U.S. Open and a remarkable five British Opens.

Beginning in 1977, Watson won six PGA TOUR Player of the Year awards, and he led the money list five times. Yet it was his head-to-head victories against Nicklaus, 10 years his senior, that cemented him as a player for the ages.

The first came at the 1977 Masters where Watson countered Nicklaus' fourth-round charge with four birdies on the closing six holes to win by two. Four months later in the British Open at Turnberry, the two engaged in the most intense and highest caliber sustained battle in the history of major championship golf. Tied after 36 holes, they were paired together in the final two rounds. Nicklaus shot 65-66, only to be beaten by Watson's 65-65.

Then in 1982, Nicklaus, gunning for a record fifth U.S. Open, held the lead down the stretch at Pebble Beach. Again Watson counterattacked, finally pitching in for a birdie from deep rough off the 17th hole to produce one of the most dramatic shots ever seen. When he also birdied the 72nd hole, he had won by two strokes and earned his only U.S. Open title.