Ahead of the final round of LIV Golf UK, RangeGoats GC captain Bubba Watson found himself second on the leaderboard behind Joaquin Niemann.
Most weeks, that would be a cause for plenty of optimism, but Watson faced a problem... how to somehow claw back a six-shot deficit on Niemann for the chance of stopping him winning for the fifth time in just 11 LIV Golf events this season.
Watson made an uncertain start to his unlikely bid to claim the title, with two birdies and three bogeys on his first eight holes to leave his chances hanging by a thread.
However, he hasn’t won 15 times in his professional career, including two Major titles, by accident, and he brought all his experience and imagination to the task at hand.
He went eight under during a six-hole run between the ninth and the 14th - a dazzling display of golf that included two of the most unconventional eagles you will ever see.
The first came on the 10th and the second on the 13th, and both involved Watson driving it off the deck.
At the 10th, a 632-yard par five, Watson’s second shot off the fairway with his driver went 320 yards, with the 46-year-old pleading along the way: “Slice, slice hard," before it rolled up a slope onto the green.
He would have been delighted with the result, leaving a makeable putt that he then converted for his first eagle.
.@bubbawatson drives it 320-yards off the deck and onto the green for eagle 😳🇬🇧 Stream on ITV 4🇬🇧 Stream on @DAZN_Sport 🇺🇸 Watch on @fs1#LIVGolfUK @RangeGoatsGC pic.twitter.com/Az01AX3XoZJuly 27, 2025
A couple of birdies followed before Watson was at it again. This time, the challenge was another par five, at 639 yards. Watson’s tee shot left his ball on a downhill lie 261 yards from the front of the green.
Out came the driver again, and this time the result was arguably better, with the ball landing on the green around 20 yards from the flag.
At that point he seemed all but unstoppable, so it wasn’t really a surprise when he rolled in the eagle putt to move to 14-under and, all of a sudden, just three behind Niemann.
2 DOD’S, 2 EAGLES FOR @bubbawatson 🔥He’s 8-under thru the last 6 holes and 2 back of Joaco on 15-under 😱🇬🇧 Stream on @ITVX 🇬🇧 Stream on @daznsport 🇺🇸 Watch on @fs1#LIVGolfUK @rangegoatsgc pic.twitter.com/jglSNkWrU8July 27, 2025
That became 15-under with yet another birdie at the 14th while Niemann made par, reducing the gap to two.
Sadly for Watson, that was as good as it got. His run ended with par on the 15th as Niemann, surely rattled by his playing partner’s cavalier approach, settled things down with a birdie.
As the pair reached the 17th tee box, Niemann’s lead was back to four after Watson bogeyed the 16th, In the end, Niemann closed out victory by three after finishing with a bogey.
Even though Watson ultimately came up short, his staggering run to ramp up the pressure on his opponent will live long in the memory, not least his two brilliant eagles, both with the driver off the deck.
