LONDON,  (Reuters) – Back on the seniors tour after  nearly winning the British Open, self-styled ‘old fogey’ Tom  Watson says he is happy to have eaten his own words.

“When I was 40 I frankly said: ‘I’ll never play golf after  I’m 50’,” the American told reporters last week at the Senior  British Open in Sunningdale, where he finished tied for eighth  five shots off the lead.

Instead of putting away his clubs, Watson, at the age of 59,  went to Turnberry for the British Open, defied his years as the  oldest man in the field, and nearly won a record-equalling sixth  open title.

Friend and former rival Jack Nicklaus, ten years Watson’s  senior, was quick to put his fellow countryman straight about  his pronouncement nearly two decades ago.

“Nicklaus laughed at me when I said that. `Look at me. I  said the same thing and I still play’,” said Watson, who is in  action again this week in the U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick,  Indiana, though his preparations were hampered by a stomach bug.

Watson and Nicklaus, among the fiercest competitors on the  tour in their heyday, had many great battles, the most famous  being the 1977 British Open at Turnberry won by Watson in a  tournament that became known as the ‘Duel in the Sun’.

Nicklaus, who won 18 majors, played professionally until  four years ago while Watson, on recent form, still has a fire  burning.