The assessment of Bubba Watson as a golfer who will win events simply by overpowering courses may now require alteration. Any assertion that, love him or loathe him, the bold Bubba offers captivating viewing was merely confirmed with his maiden victory outside of the US.
Watson, a two-time Masters champion, now has a WGC title to his name. The latest honour arrived in one of the most astonishing climaxes to an event in this golfing year. Rory McIlroy may be the undisputed best player on this planet but Watson is the sport’s marketing – and television – dream in many ways. Golf would be a poorer, and duller, place without him, despite routine whispers pointing towards a lack of popularity.
First, the Sunday bad stuff. Two holes from home in the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, Watson was his negatively ranting self after blaming external noise for a poor tee shot. He was to double bogey the 17th, apparently putting an end to his quest to upstage Martin Kaymer, Rickie Fowler, Graeme McDowell and Hiroshi Iwata.
The mistake would have been in taking your eyes off what happened next. Watson’s poor 4-iron approach to the last found a greenside bunker. Ted Scott, Watson’s caddie, turned to his boss with a message, surely delivered more in vain hope than expectation: “This is how legends are made.”
He was to hole out from that sand trap, 30 yards from the hole, for an eagle; a stunning moment that suddenly catapulted Watson back to the summit of the leaderboard. This was the kind of moment any golfing great would have been proud to be a part of. Fowler, who is a Watson fan, laughed at his playing partner’s brilliance when the natural reaction might have involved a golf club flying through the air.
Fowler failed to match Watson’s 11-under tally. Kaymer could have done but flew an approach shot to the 18th with just a wedge right into a water hazard. McDowell’s birdie putt, which would have placed him in a play-off, slid by. So, too, did that of the hitherto unknown Japanese player Hiroshi Iawta.
Tim Clark, who is the golfing antithesis to Watson, was the man alongside the left-hander in the sudden-death format, which in itself belies the theory that Watson’s level of distance automatically sets him aside from the rest. In the first hole of that play-off between the quiet man and the extrovert, after completely different strategies, both players had putts for birdie. It was Watson, from 25 feet, who holed out in therefore completing a remarkable recovery.
Watson has always maintained growing the game of golf is one of his key aspirations. It is somehow fitting that China was the scene of his latest success. Asia is regarded as the key market for golfing growth in the medium term; it naturally follows that heroes are required.
“Holing out of the bunker, me getting excited, the crowd getting excited; I think if a junior golfer is watching that here in China or around the world that might inspire them,” Watson said. “They want to do that. It’s kind of like basketball, you want to hit that last game-winning shot.
“In terms of my own gratification, it was great to win outside of the US. That is a big thing for me. I have always dreamed of winning at least one outside of the US. Another goal of mine has always been to get 10 wins. Now I have seven.”
He inevitably will not stop there. To his credit, Watson has recently added the kind of consistency to his game that was lacking at the time of his first Masters success. In the PGA Tour’s wraparound 2014 season, Watson made 18 cuts from 21 events, secured eight top-10 finishes and had a scoring average of under 70. There are tournaments it would seem impossible for Watson to win, the Open Championship for example, but he is far from alone in that regard.
Of those Watson successfully chased down in Shanghai, McDowell was the most realistic. The Northern Irishman led the field after 18, 36 and 54 holes but never looked at his fluent best, a matter that caught up with him over the closing stretch.
“I didn’t play well this week,” McDowell conceded. “I have to be brutally honest about that. To finish third in the style I did, I am disappointed. To finish third playing the way I did, I am pretty happy.
“The pins were evil at times, so you really had to be on with your iron play to access them. I didn’t play well enough, simple as that. To tie third in this type of field, not playing my best, I have to count myself fairly fortunate.”
