BRITISH OPEN runner-up Tom Watson thanked his “great friend” and former rival Jack Nicklaus for calling him after he went agonisingly close to becoming golf’s oldest major champion at Turnberry on Sunday.

Nicklaus and Watson famously battled out the 1977 British Open at the same Scottish course which Watson won in a tournament that became known as the “Duel in the Sun”.

“I had a nice conversation with Jack and he said: ‘You couldn’t have played the 18th hole any better. It just wasn’t there’,” Watson told reporters yesterday at Sunningdale Golf Club outside London where he is competing this week in the Senior British Open.

Watson (59), held a one-stroke lead going into the 72nd hole but after a solid drive the American hit his approach through the green and took three to get down for a bogey five, forcing a play-off which he lost to compatriot Stewart Cink.

“Jack also said: ‘You played the right shot with the putter.’ That soothed me a little bit. Great friend,” added Watson, who missed out on equalling Harry Vardon’s record of six British Open victories.

Nicklaus (69), who claimed a record 18 major titles between 1962 and 1986, was so intrigued by the action that he watched the entire last round from his Florida home.

“Jack told me: ‘Watson, that’s the first time I ever sat down and watched all 18 holes of any golf tournament, any golf tournament’,” said the eight-time major winner while smiling broadly.

Nicklaus told his official website (www.nicklaus.com) on Saturday that he had watched most of the front nine and all of the back nine during the third round, finding time to play some tennis in between.

Watson piled up five British Opens, two US Masters and one US Open between 1975 and 1983, leaving the US PGA championship as the only major not to rest in his grasp. He will be looking to redress the balance at Sunningdale this week and emphasised he does not regret his approach at the final hole.

“That eight-iron at 18 will always live with me and you know what – I hit the shot I wanted to hit, I really did,” said Watson.

“It had the whole length of the green to stop, and that’s where I was trying to hit it, it just didn’t stop. There’s no self-recrimination, there can’t be. I tried my best with every shot.

“I’ve lived my life out here on the tour. After the disappointment it’s onwards to the next week – forget what you did in the past except where it may help you play better golf.”

Watson’s performance has inspired his fellow competitors at Sunningdale this week, including Scotland’s Sam Torrance, who said: “To me, it’s right up there with the greatest sporting achievements of all time.

“It’s unfortunate he didn’t win it – then it would have been the greatest sporting achievement of all time. To get into that position and tie for The Open at 59, it’s extraordinary.”

Vijay Singh believes Watson’s can be an inspiration to him and his fellow 40-something professional golfers.

Singh (46), has won 22 tournaments since his 40th birthday, more than anyone else in PGA Tour history, but even he was impressed by Watson.

Speaking today ahead of his World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational title defence in Akron, Ohio, in two weeks, Singh said: “It does give me a lot more inspiration. It would have been great if he had won, but what he did is just incredible. It shows how good of a player he is, and really, that age doesn’t really matter.

“If you’re healthy and you’re fit and your golf game is good, you can play for as long as you want to play, and that gives me a lot more confidence.

“Just like when Tom won the TPC at the age of 48, 47, that shows that you are healthy and that if you can play with the boys, why not?”

Singh, with 56 total career wins worldwide, became the oldest player to win a WGC event last August when he held off Lee Westwood, Stuart Appleby and Phil Mickelson with a final-round 68 at Firestone Country Club to land the Bridgestone Invitational.

The victory was his first of 2008 and it served as the springboard for the rest of the campaign as he moved into the PGA Tour’s FedExCup play-offs, won two of the four events and captured the FedExCup itself.

After a below-par 2009, the world number 11 is hoping for a similar kickstart when he returns to Firestone in two weeks.