ABC/ESPN will formally announce Monday that the five-time Open winner will join lead announcers Mike Tirico and Paul Azinger on ABC's weekend Open coverage.

Unless, that is, he somehow shows up on-screen with a club in his hands: At 58, Watson, despite an arthritic hip, is entered in the tournament at Royal Birkdale — site of his 1983 Open win.

Watson says ABC/ESPN, which no longer covers much golf, went to him about working a few events. "I said no. I'm not good at it," says Watson, who's had "no more than a handful" of TV jobs. "I have a difficult time talking over somebody talking in my ear. It concerns me. I could start stuttering."

But he says he couldn't resist working the British Open: "There's no better venue to give this a try."

Watson knows this week's tournament will have an asterisk, given injured Tiger Woods won't be there — "There's a vacuum when he's not playing" — but he's always considered the championship something special: "It's a huge event. The fabric of society over there has been knitted with golf. Whether you played it or not, you understood golf. They probably have a better understanding of golf than fans here."

But Watson doesn't intend to lecture viewers. "Overall, if I had one criticism (of TV golf), there's too much discussion. … Let the pictures do the work."

Although, he says, sometimes there can be a need for comedy from on-air commentators: "You have to have humor. Golf is a cruel sport — but you have to introduce the cruelties in a funny way."