With his second-place finish at the 127th British Open Championship, Brian Watts provided a major boost for golf in Asia.
Winner of 11 tournaments in Japan and Asian Tour Order of Merit champion in 1993, Watts has risen to 35th in the world rankings but has received minimal international acclaim for his feats.
Speaking after his play-off loss to Mark O'Meara at Royal Birkdale, 32-year-old Watts defended the standard of golf in the Far East, where he has plied his trade for most of the 1990s.
While conceding that the US and European circuits were the best in the world, Watts said that the level of play in Japan and Asia was better than it was often given credit for.
'Hopefully I moved up a notch with my performance . . . and gained some respect for the Japanese Tour,' said the 1993 Hong Kong Open champion, who has amassed more than US$4 million in on-course earnings in Asia.
'A lot of people have been writing bad things about Jumbo Ozaki. I can tell you, he's a much better player than I am. For people to say, 'the guys over there aren't good', all I can say is that those people don't come over and watch and play.' O'Meara paid tribute to Watts, whom he said would be a big gain for the US Tour. 'He's a very fine player. His record in Japan is tremendous and now the world knows what type of a player Brian Watts is,' said O'Meara.
Watts admitted he was surprised to have performed so well at Birkdale, having made the cut just twice in five previous Open appearances with a best finish of tied for 40th at St Andrews in 1995.
'If you'd have told me at the start of the week that I'd be in a play-off I wouldn't have believed you, so I'm happy. But I'm also disappointed that I did not win because I had the opportunity to do it. But I'm still proud of myself,' said Watts.
Leading by two at the start of the final round, Watts closed with an even-par 70.
To force the play-off he made a birdie at the par-four 17th and then produced one of the shots of his life from a greenside bunker to save par at the last.
'It was a tough shot. I had a downhill lie with my right foot out of the bunker,' said Watts, who added that he had visualised exactly how he wanted to play the stroke and executed it to perfection, his ball finishing just inches from the cup.
O'Meara, watching from behind the green, described the shot as being 'as good as any I've seen in those circumstances'.
In the play-off, Watts handed the advantage to his opponent when he failed to convert a six-foot putt at the par-five 15th - the first of the four extra holes - after O'Meara had already holed out for a birdie.
But the real turning point came with his drive at the 17th, which he pushed into a terrible lie in the right rough from where he was able only to advance the ball 50 yards down the fairway.
'I never gave up, but I put myself behind the eight-ball by not getting my ball on the fairway with my drive at the 17th. But after I made my par there I was still only one behind and had a chance.'
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