A "disappointed" Bubba Watson has revealed he will miss the upcoming International Series events in the Far East after having surgery on his finger.
The two-time Masters champion says he developed a lesion on the ring finger of his left hand which had made gripping a golf club difficult.
Doctors then advised Watson to have the lesion removed, and he's already had surgery to do just that - which will help him with his game but means a spell on the sidelines of around two months.
Watson had hoped to tee it up at International Series events on the Asian Tour in Hong Kong and the Philippines but will now have to skip those two tournaments.
Watson calls the surgery "a short term setback" and is confident he will be back playing in plenty of time for the new LIV Golf season as he continues as captain of the RangeGoats.
"I had been looking forward to playing the International Series Philippines and LINK Hong Kong Open this month and I'm disappointed to miss those two events," Watson posted on social media.
"But I'm glad to know this is only a short term setback."
Watson last played at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, on the back of a vastly improved LIV Golf League performance.
Watson finished in 11th placed in the overall individual standings this year, with four top 10s in the last eight events including a runner-up spot.
That's in contrast to coming way down in 53rd in 2024, finishing in the drop zone and having to plead his case to remain in the league due to being a captain - but this year he's been miles better.
So it's a shame Watson hasn't been able to try and continue that form by playing in the Far East, but the issue on his finger meant it was tough to even grip the golf club.
Watson said that the "small growth on my left ring finger" had been "affecting my ability to grip a golf club the way I want" so opted to have surgery to remove it.
"Because of the location and depth of cuts, which are around the joint, the procedure is expected to prevent me from playing golf for up to eight weeks while I recover and rehab my finger," Watson added.
The eight-week timeframe for recovery also rules Watson out of making a comeback for the final International Series events - the Singapore Open and PIF Saudi International.
He'll likely have to now shut it down for the year and wait until the 2026 LIV Golf season begins in Riyadh at the start of February.
