You may have heard someone passionate about the game of golf say "it's a game of a lifetime" and if you doubted those very words, just look at Tom Watson this week at the age of 59.  Thru 54 holes at the Open Championship at Turnberry, five time British Open Champion Tom Watson is reminding us all again that golf is truly a game of a lifetime. 

If you are one of the lucky ones to have learned the game early in life, consider yourself blessed.  If you picked up the game as a more mature adult, well you too are fortunate to have found it in time.  Because if you're smart about how you live and care for yourself, you'll be able to play this great game late into your life.

Watson swing looks much the same as it did 32 years ago when he captured the first Open Championship to be held at Turnberry.  The famous Duel in the Sun with Jack Nicklaus defined what the Open Championship is all about for many American golf fans.  And now, thanks to Watson heroics this week an entire new generation of golf fans is being introduced to just how good the players of three and four decades ago were.  Hence the irony as the players of three and four decades ago are still very much present today.  Present, not only as ambassadors for the game but also as competitors at the highest of levels. 

Last year it was Greg Norman who led after 54 holes to finish T3 when all was said and done.  Tomorrow, Tom Watson will look to take it one step further and finish the day at Turnberry as the Champion Golfer of the World for the 6th time. 

Here are a few key factors to watch for tomorrow:

What is the weather like?  Watson is a classic mudder.  He plays well in inclement weather and knows this golf course better than anyone else in the field.  If it's windy and rainy - advantage the 59 year old Watson.

Does Watson leave himself a few early 3 to 5 feet par putts?  Watson could very well be the best putter in the game during his era from 8 to 15 feet.  But today he battles the 3 to 5 foot putt.  This week has been a different story, but will it continue?  Putting is all about confidence and thru 54 holes Watson has this confidence.  The greens are slower than what he putts in the states and that favors a weaker putter.

The Challengers.  I don't see Matthew Goggin making tomorrow the day he breaks through and wins his first major championship.  Lee Westwood; now that could be a different story.  Westwood is playing good golf and he's only a year removed from feeling the pressure of finishing a major championship on Sunday ('08 Torrey Pines he was one good putt away from joining Mediate and Woods in the playoff).  Not to be forgotten is Retief Goosen who has already tackled the monster of "winning a major" having won multiple U.S. Open championships.  Goosen starts the day only 2 shots back of Watson and this comes after making 7 on the par 5, 7th hole in route to a 3rd round 71.  Neither Westwood or Goosen will get wrapped up in the nostalgia of Tom Watson trying to make history.  If Watson is to win tomorrow, he will need to resurrect the magic of 1977 during his famous stretch run with Nicklaus.