Bubba refuses to shed small town hick image
The lucky schlub routine may work once when you win a major championship, but when you win the Masters twice in three years it is clear it doesn’t matter whether you’re from Bagdad, Florida, or Baghdad, Iraq, you are a golfer who is as sharp as a thousand-dollar suit.
Bubba Watson was sticking to the old material on Sunday night following his three-shot victory at Augusta National. Not quite as dyed in the wool as the ‘Masters Green’ jacket that had been placed on his shoulders earlier in the evening but the “aww shucks” stuff had been heard plenty of times before.
Watson’s play that afternoon and across four rounds at last week’s Masters’ though, exposed those words as a cartoon character’s persona the golfer, now world number four, is fast outgrowing.
“It’s overwhelming, you know, to win it twice, to be with the great names. Small town guy named Bubba now has two green jackets, it’s pretty wild,” Watson said when asked how it felt to have won his second Masters.
Four questions into the victory press conference he was at it again.
“A guy named Bubba from a small town, born in Pensacola, Florida, raised in Bagdad, it’s crazy to think that you’ve won.”
Anyone who watched him craft that triumph, though, will know there was nothing crazy about Watson’s golf. Unorthodox, uncoached and raw it may be but the intuitive way he got himself around Augusta National and the manner in which he bounced back from an early wobble as his closest rival Jordan Spieth got his final round off to a flyer, suggests his game is more than just a box of chocolates.
Bubba is clearly different from the rest of his golfing brethren but he is no fool. His first Masters victory in 2012 came via a miraculous shot borne of a creative mind and blistering talent as he shaped a shot for the ages around a right-angled corner to win a play-off with Louis Oosthuizen, the South African with the most wonderfully orthodox swing who had got off to a start as impressive as Spieth’s three under after seven holes.
This time around there would be no need for a play-off. This time Watson got it done ahead of schedule, flipping a two-shot deficit at the eighth and ninth holes to establish a lead he would not surrender, and eventually increase as the 20-year-old rookie with a brilliant future saw his inexperience exposed just a little with a birdie-less inward nine.
“Eight and nine were the turning points of the day,” Spieth said later. “When I got to 10 tee box I still believed that I could win the tournament, no doubt about it. I still thought that I may be able to really kick into the lead.
“From there on he played incredible golf. Ultimately, hats off to him. Bubba Watson is a deserving champion this year and that was some incredible golf he played down the stretch to hold it together and make his pars.”
A little different from his play-off heroics 24 months earlier but Watson’s victory was no less audacious, his tee shot on the par-five 13th a thunderous left-handed slice slung out over the trees over the dog-leg to leave him just a wedge into the green with Spieth needing two shots to get only a little way past his ball.
An eagle should have been the end product but Watson’s birdie there still effectively ended the contest, denying the Augusta patrons the drama of a duel down the stretch. Not that Bubba was too put out.
“I feel a lot better,” he said of the different outcomes. “The shot out of the woods made me famous, this one was a lot better for me and my nerves.”
Spieth would fall into a tie for second with Sweden’s Jonas Blixt, a fellow Masters debutant and surely has only good things ahead of him. As for Watson, more victories around Augusta National would come as no surprise, which isn’t at all bad for a small town hick who never had a golf lesson and comes from nowhere, America.
“You have to play what you know,” the 2014 Masters champion said when asked to explain how a Joe Soap wins not one but two green jackets.
“Sometimes I hit a big slice off the tee to get it in play. Sometimes I hit a big draw with an iron. Just whatever makes you feel comfortable.
“That’s what I’d tell anybody, I do what it takes to make the score. I don’t care how pretty it is, I don’t care if it’s ugly, I don’t care if it’s out of the woods. I just want to make the score.
“Lucky for me I’ve done it a couple of times around this place.”
1 Tiger Woods (USA) 8.87, 2 Adam Scott (Aus) 8.28, 3 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 8.12, 4 Bubba Watson (USA) 7.30, 5 Jason Day (Aus) 6.86, 6 Matt Kuchar (USA) 6.42, 7 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 6.08, 8 Phil Mickelson (USA) 6.07, 9 Jordan Spieth (USA) 6.02, 10 Rory McIlroy (Irl) 6.00, 11 Justin Rose (Eng) 5.93, 12 Zach Johnson (USA) 5.67, 13 Dustin Johnson (USA) 5.40, 14 Graeme McDowell (Irl) 4.56, 15 Steve Stricker (USA) 4.52, 16 Jason Dufner (USA) 4.37, 17 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 4.34, 18 Keegan Bradley (USA) 4.18, 19 Jimmy Walker (USA) 4.17, 20 Brandt Snedeker (USA) 4.15, 21 Jim Furyk (USA) 4.14, 22 Ian Poulter (Eng) 4.08, 23 Victor Dubuisson (Fra) 4.01, 24 Patrick Reed (USA) 3.90, 25 Thomas Bjorn (Den) 3.86, 26 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 3.84, 27 Webb Simpson (USA) 3.82, 28 Jamie Donaldson (Wal) 3.80, 29 Luke Donald (Eng) 3.80, 30 Graham Delaet (Can) 3.45, 31 Bill Haas (USA) 3.40, 32 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 3.27, 33 Jonas Blixt (Swe) 3.23, 34 Hunter Mahan (USA) 3.23, 35 Rickie Fowler (USA) 3.22, 36 Lee Westwood (Eng) 3.15, 37 Ryan Moore (USA) 2.97, 38 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 2.96, 39 Stephen Gallacher (Sco) 2.91, 40 Harris English (USA) 2.85, 41 Ernie Els (Rsa) 2.67, 42 Matthew Jones (Aus) 2.66, 43 Russell Henley (USA) 2.64, 44 Joost Luiten (Ned) 2.62, 45 Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 2.62, 46 Matthew Every (USA) 2.57, 47 Kevin Streelman (USA) 2.54, 48 Gary Woodland (USA) 2.51, 49 Nick Watney (USA) 2.51, 50 Billy Horschel (USA) 2.50
Hardest hole
The par-four 11th took an average of 4.5 strokes to complete. Only 10 of the 874 birdies this week were snatched from the hole named White Dogwood.
Easiest hole
The four par fives were the easiest holes, statistically, all week, none more so than 13. Named Azalea for its decorative shrubbery, players felt right at home, averaging 4.7 strokes.
Longest driver
Bubba Watson: Averaged 305.62 yards
Best putter (four rounds)
Rickie Fowler: Averaged 1.5 putts per hole
Most greens in regulation
Jordan Spieth: Hit 53 of 72 (73.61%)
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