Tom Watson hits one-handed backwards chip shot at Toshiba Classic

It’s a busy year for Tom Watson, the 64-year-old Champions Tour regular who was tabbed again to lead the American team in the Ryder Cup this fall in Scotland. Watson, often hailed as the greatest links player in the history of the game thanks to five British Opens titles, is fielding questions about the selection process and the team USA candidates at every stop along the senior circuit tour.

This week, Watson was in the news for his comments on the possibility of Tiger Woods’ candidacy, but a shot he pulled off in the first round of the Toshiba Classic should overshadow any of that constant Ryder Cup speculation. On the eighth hole at Newport Beach Country Club, Watson found a little bit of tree trouble up near the green and had a trunk obstructing his typical right-handed stance and address of the ball. So the Ryder Cup captain decided to try this unconventional swipe, backwards with one hand, and he’d doink it off the flagstick (via Toshiba Classic):

Not too bad -- it’s probably not a stretch to say that most pros are able to pull this kind of shot off, you just rarely see them put it into actual tournament play. But for Watson, the circumstances apparently called for the attempt and the results were pretty good. Most of us would just be happy to get it on the green.