Bubba Watson Is Getting No Respect At The Masters

After winning the 2012 Masters, The remainder of the season wasn’t too good to Bubba Watson. In fact, he hasn’t won since. That leads to the question, is his game only built for Augusta? It’s certainatly works there, he has a big driver, can shape shots anyway he wants, and has the imagination of a child. Come on! Who else could have, or would have tried to hit the shot on the tenth hole that beat Louis Oosthuizen last April? That’s right, no one..not even Tiger Woods.

Apr 8, 2013; Augusta, GA, USA; Bubba Watson (left) walks with practice round partner Rickie Fowler during Masters practice round play at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports /

Bubba played in the Zurich Classic in his next outing after The Masters, and tied 18th, but went on to miss the cuts at The Memorial, and The US Open. He said The Olympic Club didn’t fit his eye. He did finish the season with seven top 10’s and made 16 of 19 cuts. He made just a tad over $4 1/2 Million Dollars, and finished the season fifth in FedEx Cup points. One of his missed cuts was at The Deutsche Bank during the playoffs, and probably cost him a shot at the Cup Championship.

His only top ten this year was at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. He did get a T 9 at Dove Mountain, and a second place at The Tavistock Cup, which I don’t recognize as a finish, but the remainder of the season has been mediocre at best. He missed the cut at The Northern Trust Open.

Amid all of it, however, Bubba remains Bubba. That is the neat thing about the guy. He seems to be grounded in reality, and hasn’t let his status go to his head. Yeah, he is a little out there, but in a good way. He is the kind of free-spirited person the PGA Tour needs to compensate for the robot-like members who are……too robot-like. After-all, he spent some time hanging out with the guys from Duck Dynasty, and hey!..Jack, that has to mean something.

There is an excellent article on Bubba at pgatour.com by Larry Dorman that is a great read. Dorman: The way his game is trending, Bubba’s first green jacket will not be his last. It’s worth your time to spend a couple of minutes to follow the link, and read.

For a defending champion, Bubba is coming into Augusta this year with little respect. Almost everyone I know has already given Tiger a new Green Jacket, and not many of the remainder have Bubba on their short list. I wouldn’t count him out though, Five of the last ten Masters have been won by Lefties, and maybe there is a reason. The ability to play a fade instead of depending on a draw is becoming a huge advantage as they lengthen this old golf course.

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