Golf-Open-Watson narrowly fails to pull off Miracle in the Sun

By Tony Jimenez

TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 19 (Reuters) - Tom Watson, who won the 1977 British Open's famous Duel in the Sun against Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry, blamed his approach shot at the 72nd hole for narrowly failing to pull off a 2009 Miracle in the Sun.

"I put myself in position to win and didn't do it on the last hole," said the 59-year-old after losing a four-hole Open playoff to fellow American Stewart Cink. "It's a disappointment to do what I did (all week) and lose the tournament.

"In retrospect I probably would have hit a nine-iron (for the approach shot) rather than an eight. I hit the eight just the way I meant to and sure enough it went too far," Watson told reporters.

"I then chose to putt it from the short rough (at the back of the green) ... decided I wasn't going to leave it short and I gunned it on by (eight feet) and then made a lousy putt (for par)."

However, the eight-times major champion was keen to put his defeat in perspective.

"This ain't a funeral, you know?," said Watson, who acknowledged tiredness may have got the better of him in the playoff which he ended in four over par against Cink's two under.

Asked if he had simply run out of fuel, the veteran said: "It looked like it, didn't it? It didn't feel like it but it looked like it.

"I hit a chubby (fat) five-iron for my second shot on the first playoff hole and I got stuck on the hybrid club I hit on the second.