The 2016 Masters will be Tom Watson's last rounds at Augusta
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - The end is nearing for Tom Watson.
On the day before he teed off in his final British Open, Watson announced that next year's Masters will mark his final trip as a player to Augusta, as well.
"The golf course is too big for me, and with my declining skills and length, I won't be playing that," Watson said. "The toolbox is kind of half empty with the tools I used to be able to play good golf. Those tools are missing right now or pretty rusty, rusty like me."
Watson briefly appeared atop the leaderboard at this year's Masters, carding a Thursday 71. But his week ended on Friday with seven bogeys and a final-hole triple-bogey that left him with an ugly 81. Watson has played in every Masters since 1975, and next year would be his 42nd.
Throughout his press conference, which was by turns melancholy, humorous and nostalgic, Watson insisted that the good breaks he's received in his life far outweigh the dark times, like the missed putt that would have won him the British Open in 2009 or the debacle that was his captaincy at the Ryder Cup last year.
"The only regret I have," Watson smiled, "is that this is the end."
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.
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