Bubba Watson was planning to play this week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but skipped the event because he tweaked his back during the third round the WGC-Cadillac Championship two weeks ago.
An MRI exam showed no damage, but Watson decided to pass on the event in order to rest so he would be ready for the WGC-Dell Match Play next week at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas.
“I haven’t touched a club,” Watson told the Golf Channel. “I wanted to just rest so I can be ready for (the Masters next month at) Augusta.
“The Match Play is coming up (next week) so I took a week off, just deciding what’s going to be best for me for the rest of the year with the Olympics and Ryder Cup and everything.”
Watson passed on the tournament at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla., for the second straight year after playing the event every year from 2006 through 2014, with his best result a tie for fourth in 2012.
In his last start, Bubba finished one stroke behind winner Adam Scott in the WGC Cadillac at Doral after winning the Northern Trust Open two weeks earlier at Riviera.
“The more rest you can get, the mental grind of the tournament but also the Masters is just that much more,” said Watson, who won the first major of the year in 2012 and 2014.
“The key is not having the bad habits, getting in a bad habit that hurts you for the next month and that hurts you for Augusta.”
Watson drove from his home in the Orlando area to explain to tournament host Arnold Palmer in person why he would not be playing.
