to the Bay Hill Invitational every bit as much to see Bruce caddy as to see Tom Watson play golf. And the best thing, I think, for a lot of us when we came on tour, was that the guy we had all looked at and thought was so cool was the first guy to make you feel welcome, the first guy to want to help you out and show you the ropes. Palmer was always that way with young players. Bruce has always been that way with young caddies.”
In 1973 Bruce had no thoughts about becoming an iconic figure in his profession. All he knew was that he had somehow hooked on with a very good young player. He was making good money, he was having a good time, and any thoughts he might have had early on about his time on tour not working out were long gone. Visions of returning home and going to college were starting to fade too, but he didn’t say anything to his parents along those lines. No reason to start that battle again.
Back home in Wethersfield, the Edwards family was extremely happy to see Bruce having success. Jay and Natalie were relieved that he was making enough money to survive and seemed to be working for someone who was not only a good player but, based on Bruce’s description of him, a good man. They became very big Tom Watson fans. “As in, whenever Watson was in contention, we would set up trays in the family room, eat our dinner in front of the TV set, and watch every single shot,” Gwyn remembered. “A lot of our Sundays were built around Tom Watson’s golf game.”
And every time they turned on the TV with Watson on the leader board, there was Bruce, stride for stride with Watson, looking healthy and happy. Brian was just amazed that he was seeing his older brother on TV. Gwyn, who had just turned eleven, thought it was thrilling and of course cool because Bruce had always been cool. Jay and Natalie were still waiting for Bruce to come home and go to college. But, perhaps grudgingly at first, they had to admit that they weren’t just relieved, they were . . . proud. “He knew exactly what he wanted to do,” Jay says now, the perspective of thirty years making his vision clearer. “And he went out and did it.”
Watson and Bruce finished 1973 at the modestly named Walt Disney World Open Invitational. It had been launched in 1971, soon after Disney World opened, and was played on the two golf courses that had been built inside the park. Jack Nicklaus had won the tournament in ’71 and again in ’72, and he would win it a third straight year in ’73. Perhaps to add some suspense to the proceedings, Disney turned the tournament into a team event for the next eight years. Watson ended up missing the cut, only his second missed cut in the twelve tournaments Bruce had worked for him since July. On Friday, November 29, Linda wrote Bruce one last check and Watson and Bruce agreed that he would get a raise at the start of 1974—to $25 a day and 4 percent of winnings. There was no discussion about what Bruce might get for a win because Watson hadn’t won yet.
They shook hands in the parking lot and Watson said, “I’ll see you at Pebble.”
That would be the first event of 1974. There was now no doubt that Bruce and the Watsons were a team.
“I had my dream job,” Bruce said. “I had gone on tour not even thinking about who I wanted to work for. I just wanted to work. But once I started working for Tom, I knew I was doing exactly what I wanted to do every single week. There was no thought in my mind of doing anything different.”
Bruce didn’t go home during his break. He knew that even with the success he had had, his parents would ask questions about filling out college applications for the following fall. He didn’t want to deal with that. Not only that, he now had some money, real money. He decided to go to Hawaii for the holidays. He was nineteen years old, he was single, he had some cash, and he had no problem meeting people and making new friends.
His life was pretty close to perfect.
5
Rocket
In 1973 Bruce had no thoughts about becoming an iconic figure in his profession. All he knew was that he had somehow hooked on with a very good young player. He was making good money, he was having a good time, and any thoughts he might have had early on about his time on tour not working out were long gone. Visions of returning home and going to college were starting to fade too, but he didn’t say anything to his parents along those lines. No reason to start that battle again.
Back home in Wethersfield, the Edwards family was extremely happy to see Bruce having success. Jay and Natalie were relieved that he was making enough money to survive and seemed to be working for someone who was not only a good player but, based on Bruce’s description of him, a good man. They became very big Tom Watson fans. “As in, whenever Watson was in contention, we would set up trays in the family room, eat our dinner in front of the TV set, and watch every single shot,” Gwyn remembered. “A lot of our Sundays were built around Tom Watson’s golf game.”
And every time they turned on the TV with Watson on the leader board, there was Bruce, stride for stride with Watson, looking healthy and happy. Brian was just amazed that he was seeing his older brother on TV. Gwyn, who had just turned eleven, thought it was thrilling and of course cool because Bruce had always been cool. Jay and Natalie were still waiting for Bruce to come home and go to college. But, perhaps grudgingly at first, they had to admit that they weren’t just relieved, they were . . . proud. “He knew exactly what he wanted to do,” Jay says now, the perspective of thirty years making his vision clearer. “And he went out and did it.”
Watson and Bruce finished 1973 at the modestly named Walt Disney World Open Invitational. It had been launched in 1971, soon after Disney World opened, and was played on the two golf courses that had been built inside the park. Jack Nicklaus had won the tournament in ’71 and again in ’72, and he would win it a third straight year in ’73. Perhaps to add some suspense to the proceedings, Disney turned the tournament into a team event for the next eight years. Watson ended up missing the cut, only his second missed cut in the twelve tournaments Bruce had worked for him since July. On Friday, November 29, Linda wrote Bruce one last check and Watson and Bruce agreed that he would get a raise at the start of 1974—to $25 a day and 4 percent of winnings. There was no discussion about what Bruce might get for a win because Watson hadn’t won yet.
They shook hands in the parking lot and Watson said, “I’ll see you at Pebble.”
That would be the first event of 1974. There was now no doubt that Bruce and the Watsons were a team.
“I had my dream job,” Bruce said. “I had gone on tour not even thinking about who I wanted to work for. I just wanted to work. But once I started working for Tom, I knew I was doing exactly what I wanted to do every single week. There was no thought in my mind of doing anything different.”
Bruce didn’t go home during his break. He knew that even with the success he had had, his parents would ask questions about filling out college applications for the following fall. He didn’t want to deal with that. Not only that, he now had some money, real money. He decided to go to Hawaii for the holidays. He was nineteen years old, he was single, he had some cash, and he had no problem meeting people and making new friends.
His life was pretty close to perfect.
5
Rocket
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