PGA Watson's caddie is an inspiration

Bruce Edwards has ALS, but he walked all 18 holes, toting the bag.
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (AP) -- 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 40-footer 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 U.S. Open.
Then he walked triumphantly up the 18th hole, where the cheers cascading down from the bleachers weren't just meant for his boss.
The longtime 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.
Feels pretty good
Diagnosed a 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 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 and 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 U.S. Open. He has been there through the good and bad of Watson's career.
Special relationship
Theirs was always more than a caddie-player relationship.
They were friends, and never has the bond been closer.
"I have so many memories with him," Edwards said.
Watson was there in January when Edwards got married in Hawaii, telling everyone about a caddie who doesn't have a mean bone in his body.
He's been there leading the efforts to raise money to find a cure for his disease.
"The disease needs help in finding a cure. We need to find a cure now. And believe it or not, money can speed up the cure. A lot of money," Watson said. "ALS is an orphan disease. It only affects 30,000 people. That doesn't make it a big enough disease for the drug companies to spend millions of dollars to find a cure, as AIDS, cancer, heart disease, things like that.
"There's some very, very strong indications a drug will cure ALS, we just have to find it."
Watson is realistic enough to know that won't come in time for the man who has been at his side for 30 years.
"Bruce doesn't have a lot of time left," Watson said. "He knows the situation."
The U.S. Golf Association offered Edwards a cart to use during the Open so he wouldn't have the burden of carrying a heavy bag. Edwards declined, determined to walk all 18 holes carrying Watson's clubs.
"If anything, the disease I have and what I'm trying to do is show other people to keep going, never quit," Edwards said.
Edwards knew 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."