Steve Rose, Chairman

Tom Watson, one of the greatest golfers of all time, was in Topeka last week, trying to replicate his miracle shot that defeated Jack Nicklaus in the 1982 U.S. Open.

That shot, in case you either are not old enough to remember, or somehow never saw the actual tournament or reruns, is considered one of the most famous shots in the history of golf.

Watson was tied with Nicklaus coming into the 17th hole. He needed a par to get into a playoff.

His approach was a 210-yard shot that hooked, and the ball got caught in the rough between the bunkers and the green. He had a 20-foot chip shot and was on a down-slope. Watson’s caddie said, “Get it close.”

Watson replied, “Get it close, hell, I’m going to sink it.”

And he did, leaping up and down with a big grin on his face, his miracle birdie defeating Nicklaus for the championship.

So, the lesson here is, don’t ever underestimate Tom Watson and certainly don’t tell him he has long odds of achieving his goals. Because Tom Watson has the kind of amazing determination mortals rarely have.

Watson has been fighting to keep his rural estate, as part of an eight-square-mile area, from being annexed by Overland Park. And, so far, he has lost.

The Johnson County Commission voted recently to approve the annexation and the Overland Park City Council confirmed it with their vote.

For anyone else, that might be the end of the match. For Tom Watson, it was just the beginning.

He and others have hired an attorney to appeal the decision, mostly on legal grounds that have been tested in court before and failed. But they are going forward, nonetheless.

But Tom Watson is also taking a different approach, one never seen before. He has buddied up with State Rep. Ray Merrick, who represents Watson and other upset homeowners, and who also happens to be the House majority leader.

At the urging of Watson and others, Merrick has initiated legislation that would change the laws regarding annexation and, if successful, would retroactively nullify this land grab.

The bill would change the rules, so that people who live in a proposed annexed area would get to vote on whether they wanted to be annexed. If a majority says no, that would end the annexation.

Over lunch in the Capitol, Watson was deadly serious about his task. He certainly was not grinning, even for a moment. He has hired a full-time lobbyist to help usher the legislation through.

As he said to me, “This is a matter of democracy. We should have a say over whether we are to be annexed.”

I told Watson I disagreed, and that if his law had been in place over the past 50 years, Overland Park and other cities in Johnson County would be much, much smaller and far more of Johnson County would be unincorporated, and so there would have been far less planning.

Well, I was just teeing it up for Watson, who railed on his examples of Overland Park’s poor planning.

The bill is anything but assured of getting through the Legislature. But clearly Watson will not go down without giving it everything he’s got and then some.

Who would expect otherwise?

Those are the traits that made Tom Watson a legend.