The Captains Club has chosen to honor famed professional golfer Tom Watson at the 2012 Memorial Tournament in Dublin.

Honorees are chosen because they have significantly contributed to the game of golf.

Watson, tied for ninth all-time on the PGA tour, has won 39 victories, including 2 at the Memorial Tournament, since joining the PGA tour in 1974. 

Tom Sprouse, communications director for the Memorial Tournament, says Watson and Jack Nicklaus, who has won more majors than any other professional golfer and is the founder of the Memorial Tournament, have not only been competitors but also have been great friends.

“Anytime that there is a direct connection to Nicklaus ... that honoree is a special one,” Sprouse says of Watson. He adds that they “were rivals on the golf course and have competed in some historical battles.” 

One such battled occurred in 1977 at Turnburry, Scotland, when Waston beat Nicklaus by a single stroke in what has come to be known as the “Duel in the Sun.”

Watson was introduced to the game when he was 6 by his father, Ray and went on to play golf for Stanford University. He has since been the PGA Player of the Year five times and was inducted into the PGA World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988. 

Off the course, Watson has helped raise more than $15 million for multiple charities. On the course, he has been known as a respected sportsman and ambassador for the sport.

Last Sunday, Watson became the oldest winner of a Champions Tour major at the age of 61 when he won the Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

Guests of the 2012 Memorial Tournament can celebrate Watson’s achievements with him, beginning with activities to honor him at the opening ceremony.