December 27, 2006

HOUSTON, TX — Jason Watson, a full 7-year member of the Carl Spackler Open, has won the 2006 Virtual Tournament after cruising by the competition late this summer and building a record lead this fall that may stand for decades.

The monsterous victory by 14.5 points per round has lots of members asking questions, but several insiders are more interesting in seeing his 9.3 handicap on the golf course. Watson will open the 2007 season as the group's 9th best golfer.

"This is not about points," says Mike Davis, a.k.a. Gumby. "Watson is finishing the season with a major drop in USGA Handicap. The 18.1 drop in strokes per round will also shine for decades."

Watson tops the Poststats Stroke Leaderboard by 14 strokes per round. He opened his season last January as the 63rd best golfer with an unimpressive handicap of 27.5 strokes per round.

"We had 81 active guys this year," said Gumby. "There were only 18 golfers with a higher handicap than Watson in January 2006. That my friend is a hacker. He has suddenly become our 9th best golfer in relatively 5 months."

"You want to hear something impressive," added Gumby. "Our Top 10 is Bakshi, Ridgeway, Zabonik, Farrell, me, Chuck, Wray, Slick, Watson, Morris. Watson sticks out like the Carl Spackler Outfit out on the town."

Tom McCauley caught up with Randy Watson this fall to find out how the strokes came off like a version of the South Beach Diet.

"I am playing about once per week during the offseason," said Watson during his interview. "Going to the range twice per week for 2 hours at a time has developed a lot of consistency that can be carried to the golf courses. Most importantly, I fixed my balance and no longer falling out of my swing."

McCauley asked about the Texas courses and very lengthy yardages he continues to dominate. "Courses down here are a little more wide open with not as much trouble," said Watson. "The bermuda greens are much easier to putt on than bent greens. The USGA Slope Ratings down here are out of whack."

The 2006 Virtual Tournament officially ends on December 30. A full distribution of Poststats Points along with Stroke Handicaps will be set for the 2007 season-long tournament on January 1.