Bubba Watson showed last year how great he can become.
And it wasn’t only that he won the Masters for the second time in April, but also what he did two months earlier on the PGA Tour’s West Coast swing.
Known as one of the real power hitters in the game, Watson tamed the classic course at Riviera Country Club known as “Hogan’s Alley,” playing the weekend in 64-64 to beat another bomber, Dustin Johnson, by two strokes and win the Northern Trust Open.
If anyone remained unconvinced by his hook shot for the ages from the trees to beat Louis Oosthuizen in a playoff at the 2012 Masters that he has all the shots to win anywhere, winning on the narrow fairways and small greens at Riviera had to do it.
“What an honor, what a privilege, what a blessing; the history behind this golf tournament, the history behind some of the great names as champions here,” said Watson, who defends his title this week in Pacific Palisades, a suburb of Los Angeles. “To be a part of that now, to see success here at this golf course, which they haven’t changed much over the years, which all of us golfers love. They don’t trick it up. They don’t have to add a bunch of length. It just is what it is, and it’s tough. I always put it on my schedule.
“I love it, and like I said … they haven’t changed it much. They have let it be what it is. And it’s a beautiful piece of land, beautiful piece of property. You see the old footage, the old photos, I think it was like 1933, the polo grounds and all that stuff. The history behind this tournament, the years people played in this tournament. I mean, it’s incredible, and for me to be a part of this now is amazing.”
Watson won again in November, capturing the WGC-HSBC Champions on another totally different course at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China. He holed a 60-yard bunker shot on the final hole of regulation to get into a playoff with Tim Clark, then sank the winning 20-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.
One guy who is convinced is Peter Kostis, the CBS golf analyst who is a top instructor.
“The more I think about it, the more I see Bubba as a bigger, stronger and longer — and yes, quirkier — Seve Ballesteros,” Kostis wrote in an article for Golf.com. “Like Seve, Bubba has a home-built swing based on a great pair of hands, and like Seve, Bubba can be a little wild off the tee and then pull off unbelievable recovery shots.
“Bubba also reminds me of Seve in that he’s an emotional player who is able to control his excitement when it matters most. Of course, Seve was also known for his fantastic short game. Bubba’s short game is not quite there, but it’s perfectly adequate, as we saw at Augusta National.”
Watson admitted that he wasn’t quite ready for the demands that followed after claiming the first of his two Green Jackets three years ago at Augusta National, and he didn’t win again until last year at Riviera.
However, winning three times in 2014, including a second major, lifted him to No. 3 in the World Golf Rankings.
“It took me a year or so to get adjusted that I’m not really that good, I’ve got to keep practicing,” said Watson, who has won four of the five playoffs in which he has been involved in on the PGA Tour, losing only to Martin Kaymer in the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, where the final major of the year will be played again in August.
“Finally I got adjusted to it, and here we are, another Green Jacket. … This one is a lot different. The first one for me, it’s almost like I lucked into it.”
Much of the reason that Watson finally is beginning to play up to his potential is that he is at peace on and off the course, and a lot of that has to do with becoming a father.
A month before his first Masters victory, Bubba and his wife, Angie, who cannot conceive children, adopted a one-month old boy they named Caleb. Late last year, after Watson’s victory in China, they adopted a baby girl they named Dakota.
“It’s because of my son, my son, and now my daughter,” Watson said earlier this year. “When you look at it, it’s just a sport. We play a great game. I’m blessed. I have won a few times, won a couple of majors. I’m blessed to do this. It’s fun. I’m going back to being a kid and just having fun with it.
“Right now it doesn’t matter what I shoot, doesn’t matter if I win the tournament this week or if I lose it with a three-putt, whatever it is. It’s fun. I’m playing golf for a living. It’s fun. And my kids, my wife are more important, and there’s other things I can do. Somehow if I lose my golf game, I can always find a job somewhere else.”
That is not likely to happen.
Watson has played in three tournaments in the early stages of the 2014-15 season and finished in the top 10 each time, including his WGC victory, a tie for second in the Waste Management Phoenix and solo 10th in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
“My consistency is getting better,” said Watson, who has four runner-up finishes in the past year. “So I’m looking at it as a great year, a good learning curve, and obviously the wins are proving that I can and I am going in the right direction.”
Perhaps toward the World Golf Hall of Fame.
–Story courtesy of The Sports Xchange, TSX Golf Editor Tom LaMarre
