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   » » Wiki: Bubba Watson
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Gerry Lester " Bubba" Watson Jr. (born November 5, 1978) is an American professional golfer. He has two major championships, with victories at the Masters Tournament in 2012 and 2014, and a total of 12 wins. In February 2015, Watson reached a career-high second place in the Official World Golf Ranking. Watson joined the LIV Golf League in 2022.

One of few tour golfers, Watson has consistently been among the longest drivers; in 2007, he had an average drive of . He can hit a ball over and up to . He has finished top of the driving distance statistics five times, during the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, and 2014 seasons.


Amateur career
Watson was born and raised in Bagdad, Florida, near Pensacola. He played on the golf team at Milton High School, just after future PGA Tour members and . Watson played golf for Faulkner State Community College in nearby Baldwin County, , where he was a junior college . He transferred to the University of Georgia, the defending NCAA champions, and played for the Bulldogs in 2000 and 2001. As a junior, Watson helped lead the Bulldogs to the SEC title in 2000.


Professional career
Watson turned professional in 2002 and joined the , where he played until 2005. He finished 21st on the Nationwide Tour's money list in 2005, making him the last player to qualify for the following year's . As a rookie in 2006, he earned $1,019,264 (90th overall) and led the PGA Tour in driving distance at . His longest drive in professional competition was on the PGA Tour at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Watson played well at the 2007 U.S. Open. He was in the final group on Saturday after shooting rounds of 70-71 (+1) at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh. Watson was one stroke off the lead after 36 holes but then slipped, shooting 74 (+4) in both the third and fourth rounds; he finished in a tie for fifth.


2010
Watson claimed his first win on June 27, 2010, in Cromwell, Connecticut, at the Travelers Championship on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with and . Watson tearfully dedicated the win to his parents, specifically his father who was battling .

Watson was runner-up to at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, falling in the three-hole aggregate playoff that included until he incurred a two-stroke penalty on the 72nd hole. Watson led the playoff after a birdie on the first hole, but Kaymer birdied the par-3 second hole to tie, effectively turning the playoff into sudden-death. Watson's second shot found the water hazard and Kaymer bested him by a stroke to win the major championship.

Watson had his own clothing line called "Bubba Golf" at the former Steve & Barry's. He was invited on The Ellen DeGeneres Show after he sent her a video of a golf trick shot he completed for her birthday.


2011
On January 30, 2011, Watson won his second PGA Tour event, the Farmers Insurance Open, finishing one stroke ahead of runner-up . Watson picked up his second win of the 2011 season and third career PGA Tour title on May 1 when he defeated at the second playoff hole at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Both players birdied the first playoff hole, with Watson holing a 12-footer; he birdied the next hole to win the tournament.

In July 2011, Watson provoked controversy by criticizing the Alstom Open de France on the , in which he was playing under a sponsor's exemption. He indicated after his first round that he would not be playing any further events on the European Tour, and complained after his second round about security and organization at the tournament.

Watson took part in the Long Drive Contest for charity at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions alongside and . He finished in second place, with a longest drive of behind a drive of over by .


2012
Watson began the year with three top-5 finishes in seven events, including finishing second at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.


Masters win
Watson's first major championship win came at the Masters. He began the final round at six-under-par, three strokes off the lead, held by . On the back nine, Watson bogeyed the par-3 12th hole to return to even par for the round. He then recorded four consecutive birdies for a round of 68 (-4) and tied for the 72-hole lead with fourth-round playing partner at ten-under-par. In the sudden-death playoff, Oosthuizen and Watson both made par on the uphill 18th hole. On the next hole, the downhill 10th, both drove their tee shots towards the woods to the right of the hole. Oosthuizen's landed in the rough away, while Watson's ball landed deep in the woods on pine straw, from the pin without a clear shot to the green. Watson executed a miraculous recovery shot with 40 yards of hook on his 52-degree gap wedge and stopped the ball within fifteen feet of the hole. Oosthuizen's approach shot landed short of the green, but he chipped past the hole and narrowly missed his lengthy putt for par. Watson trickled his birdie putt a foot past the hole, took his time on the very short par putt, then made it for the emotional victory. The win took him to a world ranking of four, a career-high at the time.


Rest of 2012
Following his Masters win, Watson began to struggle. He missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament and the U.S. Open. A week after the U.S. Open, he finished tied for second at the Travelers Championship. A month later, he played Open Championship, the third major of the year. While shooting a first round of −3 to tie him at third place, he never advanced much after that, finishing tied for 23rd place. In the final major of the year, the PGA Championship, Watson tied for 11th. He finished the year with one win, six top-5 finishes, seven top-10 finishes and three missed cuts.


2013
Watson began the season playing the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, where he finished tied for fourth place, and reached the quarterfinals in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. In the subsequent World Golf Championship event, the WGC-Cadillac Championship, he began very strong with rounds of 66 and 69, but finished with rounds of 71 and 75 and tied for 18th place.

After finishing tied 14th place in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he returned to the Masters as the defending champion. Never in contention in the tournament, he finished 50th after a final round of 77. Watson tied for 37th at The Players Championship. On the second major of the year, the U.S. Open, he finished with a solid 71 in the first round, just four shots off the lead, but a second round score of 76 left him out of contention, and he tied for 32nd. At the Travelers Championship he took the lead after a second round of 67, but in the final round, leading by one with three to play, he triple-bogeyed the par-3 16th and finished two shots back in 4th place.

Tying for 30th at the Greenbrier Classic, he then played in the third major of the year, The Open Championship. After two solid rounds of 70 and 73, he shot 77 in the third round, and tied for 32nd.


2014
At the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Watson held the lead for most of the tournament, but he finished runner-up to .

Watson earned his fifth career PGA Tour victory—and his first since the 2012 Masters—at the 2014 Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. He shot back-to-back 64s over the weekend to defeat runner-up by two strokes. The victory raised him to 14 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He followed that win with two more strong finishes—a ninth-place tie in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and a second-place tie in the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Those performances elevated him from 14 to 12 in the world ranking.


Second Masters win
Watson won the 2014 Masters by three shots, with a score of 280 (−8). He entered the final round tied for the lead with 20-year-old Masters rookie . Playing together in the final pairing, Spieth birdied the seventh hole for a two-stroke lead over Watson. However, the momentum turned on the par-5 eighth hole. Spieth had a birdie putt, but ended up three-putting for bogey while Watson birdied to pull into a first-place tie. Then, on the ninth hole, Watson birdied again while Spieth bogeyed, and the four-shot swing over two holes gave Watson a lead that he never relinquished in a win over Spieth and . With the win, Watson became the 17th player to win the Masters two or more times. The win moved him again to number four in the Official World Golf Ranking.


2015
Watson won the Travelers Championship to move him to third in the Official World Golf Ranking. He garnered his second victory in 2015 by winning the unofficial Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, besting fellow American by three strokes.


2016
Prior to the Waste Management Phoenix Open in early February, Watson caused a bit of controversy after publicly admitting his dislike for the course, . As a result, he was jeered by fans for the majority of the tournament, later criticizing the media for "turning his words around". Two weeks later though, he returned to the winner's circle after winning the Northern Trust Open at Riviera for a second time in three years, seeing off the challenge of Adam Scott and Jason Kokrak to win by one shot on 15-under-par.


2017
Watson did not chalk a win during the 2017 season, and missed the cut at three of the year's four majors (his only cut a T27 at The Open Championship). He had five top-10 finishes with more than $1.3 million in tour earnings.


2018
The 2018 season started with a T7 at the in December 2017 marking the best of his first six starts. Watson returned to the winner's circle with a 12-under finish at the in February, his third victory at this tournament (2014, 2016), all at Riviera. His trifecta at the Genesis (previously known as the Los Angeles Open, Northern Trust Open, and Nissan Open) makes him only the fifth to win this long-standing event at least three times, along with , , , and . On March 25, he gained his eleventh tour win at the WGC-Dell Match Play event in Austin, Texas, with a winner's share of $1.7 million. On June 24, 2018, he won again at the Travelers Championship winning $1.26 million at TPC River Highlands. This was his third career victory at the Travelers tournament (2010, 2015).

In September 2018, Watson qualified for the U.S. team participating in the 2018 Ryder Cup. Europe defeated the U.S. team 17 1/2 to 10 1/2. Watson went 1–2–0. He lost his singles match against .


2022
On July 29, 2022, Watson announced that he had joined as a non-playing team captain for the remainder of the season while he recovered from a , with the intention of returning to play from 2023. On August 10, he announced that he had resigned from the PGA Tour.


Personal life
Watson's father, Gerry Sr., died on October 15, 2010, of throat cancer. His mother is Molly Marie Watson and he has a sister, Melinda Watson Conner. Watson was nicknamed by his father after the former professional American football player .

Bubba Watson's wife, Angie ( Angela Ball), is a whom he met at Georgia while he was on the golf team and she was on the women's basketball team. They were married in September 2004. In 2009, she was diagnosed with an enlarged , which accounts for her height.

Unable to have a child naturally, various family issues, including the illness and death of Watson's father in 2010, kept them from attempting to adopt until 2011–12. In March 2012, one week after a potential adoption fell through at the last moment, Watson and his wife adopted a one-month-old baby boy named Caleb. In late 2014, the Watsons adopted a baby girl.

Watson is a member of the "Golf Boys", a boy band consisting of Watson, , , and . Their single "Oh Oh Oh" is currently on . The video was produced by Farmers Insurance Group. Farmers donates $1000 to charity for every 100,000 views the video gets.

In 2011, he made a humorous appearance in the song "Michael Jackson" by Christian hip hop artist on the album . He was featured in the song "Ima Just Do It" by KB, another Christian hip hop artist, on the album Tomorrow We Live. His prototype Golf Cart Hovercraft, the BW1, YouTube video has earned more than 8 million views. Bubba Watson's Golf Cart Hovercraft, trugolf.com; accessed July 10, 2015.

Watson is a committed who speaks openly about the importance of faith in his life.

Watson purchased the mansion in the Isleworth community of Windermere, Florida, that was previously owned by . In 2013, he was added to the list of by Governor .

Watson purchased a General Lee car from the television series The Dukes of Hazzard at auction for $110,000 in 2012. Following the Charleston church shooting in June 2015, display of the Confederate flag — which is featured on the car's roof — became the subject of renewed controversy. Watson responded by saying he would paint over the flag with the American flag.

In 2015, Watson moved to Pensacola, where he has become very involved in the community. Among other ventures, Watson opened an ice cream store, purchased a part ownership in the Pensacola Blue Wahoos Minor League Baseball team, and purchased a Chevrolet dealership in nearby Milton, Florida. Watson has made significant donations to the Studer Family Children's Hospital in Pensacola.


Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (12)
Major championships (2)
World Golf Championships (2)
Other PGA Tour (8)
1Jun 27, 2010Travelers Championship65-68-67-66=266−14Playoff,
2Jan 30, 2011Farmers Insurance Open71-65-69-67=272−161 stroke
3May 1, 2011Zurich Classic of New Orleans66-68-70-69=273−15Playoff
4Apr 8, 2012Masters Tournament69-71-70-68=278−10Playoff
5Feb 16, 2014Northern Trust Open70-71-64-64=269−152 strokes
6Apr 13, 2014Masters Tournament (2)69-68-74-69=280−83 strokes,
7Nov 9, 2014WGC-HSBC Champions71-67-69-70=277−11PlayoffTim Clark
8Jun 28, 2015Travelers Championship (2)62-67-68-67=264−16Playoff
9Feb 21, 2016Northern Trust Open (2)66-68-67-68=269−151 stroke, Adam Scott
10Feb 18, 2018 (3)68-70-65-69=272−122 strokes,
11Mar 25, 2018WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play7 and 6
12Jun 24, 2018Travelers Championship (3)70-63-67-63=263−173 strokes, ,
J. B. Holmes,

PGA Tour playoff record (5–1)

12010Travelers Championship, Won with par on second extra hole
Pavin eliminated by par on first hole
22010PGA ChampionshipLost three-hole aggregate playoff;
Kaymer: E (4-2-5=11),
Watson: +1 (3-3-6=12)
32011Zurich Classic of New OrleansWon with birdie on second extra hole
42012Masters TournamentWon with par on second extra hole
52014WGC-HSBC ChampionsTim ClarkWon with birdie on first extra hole
62015Travelers ChampionshipWon with birdie on second extra hole


NGA Hooters Tour wins (1)
1Mar 14, 2004Michelob Ultra Orange Park Open67-68-64-66=265−234 strokes


Other wins (2)
1Jun 24, 2008CVS Caremark Charity Classic
(with )
61-34=95*−15Playoff and Davis Love III,
and ,
and
2Dec 6, 2015Hero World Challenge67-67-63-66=263−253 strokes
[Released September 29, 2011]Note: The 2008 CVS Caremark Charity Classic was stopped after 28 holes due to heavy rain.

Other playoff record (1–1)

12008CVS Caremark Charity Classic
(with )
and Davis Love III,
and ,
and
Won by 1 stroke in three-hole aggregate playoff
22014PGA Grand Slam of GolfLost to birdie on first extra hole


Playoff record
PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)
12005MasterCard MastersLost to par on first extra hole

Nationwide Tour playoff record (0–1)

12004Lake Erie Charity ClassicMichael Long, Stadler won with par on fourth extra hole
Long eliminated by par on first hole


Major championships

Wins (2)
,
1Defeated Louis Oosthuizen in a sudden-death playoff: Watson (4-4), Oosthuizen (4-5).


Results timeline
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
Masters Tournament T2042
U.S. OpenCUT T5CUTT18
The Open Championship CUT
CUT70CUT
Masters Tournament T381T501T38T37CUTT5
U.S. Open T63CUTT32CUTCUTT51CUTCUT
The Open ChampionshipCUTT30T23T32CUTCUTT39T27CUT
2T26T11CUTT64T21T60CUTCUT
Masters TournamentT1257T26T39CUTCUTT14
CUTT7180T30
U.S. OpenCUTT31T50
The Open ChampionshipT51NT

CUT = missed the half-way cut
T = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic


Summary
14
10
7
6
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (2019 Open – 2022 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)


Results in The Players Championship
The Players ChampionshipCUTCUTT37
The Players ChampionshipCUTT45 T37T48T42T43CUTT57T56
The Players ChampionshipCCUTT68

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic


World Golf Championships

Wins (2)
2014WGC-HSBC Champions3 shot deficit−11 (71-67-69-70=277)PlayoffTim Clark
2018WGC-Dell Technologies Match Playn/a7 and 6


Results timeline
Results not in chronological order before 2015.
72 2T18T232T38T9T27T18T54
4R32R16R16T17T28R161T40NT1R16T26
T22T21T19T27T372T14T17T31T9T25
Champions 33T81T35T54 T28NT1NT1NT1
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.


PGA Tour career summary
n/a
n/a
90
55
58
60
15
16
5
44
2
3
18
91
6
71
53
69
-
-
* As of the 2023 season


U.S. national team appearances
Professional
  • Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 2007, 2009, 2010 (winners)
  • : 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018
  • : 2011 (winners), 2015 (winners)


See also
  • 2005 Nationwide Tour graduates


External links

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