Tears mix with joy as dying caddie shares spotlight

He struggled to get the words out, and began to cry when he tried to explain what they meant. Bruce Edwards may be dying, but for one magical afternoon he and Tom Watson were young again.

The tears welled up in his eyes when Watson made a 12 meter putt on his 16th hole to get in the hunt. He fought to keep his composure as his boss made another putt on his 17th hole to move into a tie for the lead in the US Open.

Then walked triumphantly up the 18th hole, where the cheers cascading down from the bleachers weren't just meant for his boss.

The caddie got some, too.

"It was a beautiful, beautiful day," Edwards said.

It was the kind of day Watson doesn't have many left of on the golf course.

It was the kind of day Edwards doesn't have many left of at all.

Diagnosed few months ago with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- Lou Gehrig's disease -- Edwards' speech is slurred and his body is beginning to shut down.

"I talk like the town drunk," he said, "but I feel pretty good."

Still, he stoically carried Watson's bag around 18 holes on Thursday at Olympia Fields, just as he had so many times before.

"I don't know when I won't be able to do it any more," Edwards said. "I'm a proud man right now."

No prouder than Watson was of him.

"He had a few tears in his eyes, made me cry," Watson said. "It was a very special day. Very special day."

Edwards Watson had shared special days before. Edwards was on the bag when Watson chipped in on No. 17 in 1982 at Pebble Beach to clinch the US Open. He has been there through the good and bad of Watson's career.

Theirs was always more than a caddie-player relationship.

They were friends, and never has the bond been closer.

Edwards early this might be a special day. Watson got a special exemption just to play in the Open at the age of 53.

He knocked a 6-iron into the cup on his third hole of the day, and when the 40-footer that hung on the lip on his 16th hole dramatically dropped, he was even more sure there was something to this.

Like the chip-in at Pebble 21 years ago, someone asked.

Not quite, Edwards replied.

"It was just a game back then," Edwards said. "It's a lot more than a game now."