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 PGA Tour 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 left-handed 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.
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.
Watson was runner-up to Martin Kaymer at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, falling in the three-hole aggregate playoff that included Dustin Johnson 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.
In July 2011, Watson provoked controversy by criticizing the Alstom Open de France on the European Tour, 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 Dustin Johnson and Robert Garrigus. He finished in second place, with a longest drive of behind a drive of over by Jamie Sadlowski.
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.
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 Dustin Johnson 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.
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 Henrik Stenson.
Bubba Watson's wife, Angie ( Angela Ball), is a Canada 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 pituitary gland, 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, Ben Crane, Rickie Fowler, and Hunter Mahan. Their single "Oh Oh Oh" is currently on YouTube. 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 Andy Mineo on the album Formerly Known. 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 Christianity 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 Tiger Woods. In 2013, he was added to the list of Great Floridians by Governor Rick Scott.
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.
PGA Tour playoff record (5–1)
Other playoff record (1–1)
Nationwide Tour playoff record (0–1)
CUT = missed the half-way cut
CUT = missed the halfway cut
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
Professional wins (15)
PGA Tour wins (12)
Major championships (2) World Golf Championships (2) Other PGA Tour (8) 1 Jun 27, 2010 Travelers Championship 65-68-67-66=266 −14 Playoff Corey Pavin, Scott Verplank 2 Jan 30, 2011 Farmers Insurance Open 71-65-69-67=272 −16 1 stroke Phil Mickelson 3 May 1, 2011 Zurich Classic of New Orleans 66-68-70-69=273 −15 Playoff Webb Simpson 4 Apr 8, 2012 Masters Tournament 69-71-70-68=278 −10 Playoff Louis Oosthuizen 5 Feb 16, 2014 Northern Trust Open 70-71-64-64=269 −15 2 strokes Dustin Johnson 6 Apr 13, 2014 Masters Tournament (2) 69-68-74-69=280 −8 3 strokes Jonas Blixt, Jordan Spieth 7 Nov 9, 2014 WGC-HSBC Champions 71-67-69-70=277 −11 Playoff Tim Clark 8 Jun 28, 2015 Travelers Championship (2) 62-67-68-67=264 −16 Playoff Paul Casey 9 Feb 21, 2016 Northern Trust Open (2) 66-68-67-68=269 −15 1 stroke Jason Kokrak, Adam Scott 10 Feb 18, 2018 Genesis Open (3) 68-70-65-69=272 −12 2 strokes Tony Finau, Kevin Na 11 Mar 25, 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play 7 and 6 Kevin Kisner 12 Jun 24, 2018 Travelers Championship (3) 70-63-67-63=263 −17 3 strokes Paul Casey, Stewart Cink,
J. B. Holmes, Beau Hossler1 2010 Travelers Championship Corey Pavin, Scott Verplank Won with par on second extra hole
Pavin eliminated by par on first hole2 2010 PGA Championship Martin Kaymer Lost three-hole aggregate playoff;
Kaymer: E (4-2-5=11),
Watson: +1 (3-3-6=12)3 2011 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Webb Simpson Won with birdie on second extra hole 4 2012 Masters Tournament Louis Oosthuizen Won with par on second extra hole 5 2014 WGC-HSBC Champions Tim Clark Won with birdie on first extra hole 6 2015 Travelers Championship Paul Casey Won with birdie on second extra hole
NGA Hooters Tour wins (1)
1 Mar 14, 2004 Michelob Ultra Orange Park Open 67-68-64-66=265 −23 4 strokes Will MacKenzie
Other wins (2)
[Released September 29, 2011]Note: The 2008 CVS Caremark Charity Classic was stopped after 28 holes due to heavy rain.
1 Jun 24, 2008 CVS Caremark Charity Classic
(with Camilo Villegas)61-34=95* −15 Playoff Billy Andrade and Davis Love III,
Paul Goydos and Tim Herron,
Rocco Mediate and Brandt Snedeker2 Dec 6, 2015 Hero World Challenge 67-67-63-66=263 −25 3 strokes Patrick Reed 1 2008 CVS Caremark Charity Classic
(with Camilo Villegas)Billy Andrade and Davis Love III,
Paul Goydos and Tim Herron,
Rocco Mediate and Brandt SnedekerWon by 1 stroke in three-hole aggregate playoff 2 2014 PGA Grand Slam of Golf Martin Kaymer Lost to birdie on first extra hole
Playoff record
1 2005 MasterCard Masters Robert Allenby Lost to par on first extra hole 1 2004 Lake Erie Charity Classic Michael Long, Kevin Stadler 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).
Louis Oosthuizen Jonas Blixt, Jordan Spieth
Results timeline
Masters Tournament T20 42 U.S. Open CUT T5 CUT T18 The Open Championship CUT PGA Championship CUT 70 CUT Masters Tournament T38 1 T50 1 T38 T37 CUT T5 U.S. Open T63 CUT T32 CUT CUT T51 CUT CUT The Open Championship CUT T30 T23 T32 CUT CUT T39 T27 CUT PGA Championship 2 T26 T11 CUT T64 T21 T60 CUT CUT Masters Tournament T12 57 T26 T39 CUT CUT T14 PGA Championship CUT T71 80 T30 U.S. Open CUT T31 T50 The Open Championship T51 NT
T = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
14 10 7 6
Results in The Players Championship
The Players Championship CUT CUT T37 The Players Championship CUT T45 T37 T48 T42 T43 CUT T57 T56 The Players Championship C CUT T68
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic
World Golf Championships
Wins (2)
2014 WGC-HSBC Champions 3 shot deficit −11 (71-67-69-70=277) Playoff Tim Clark 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play n/a 7 and 6 Kevin Kisner
Results timeline
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemicWGC-Championship 72 2 T18 T2 3 2 T38 T9 T27 T18 T54 WGC-Match Play 4 R32 R16 R16 T17 T28 R16 1 T40 NT1 R16 T26 WGC-Invitational T22 T21 T19 T27 T37 2 T14 T17 T31 T9 T25 Champions 33 T8 1 T35 T54 T28 NT1 NT1 NT1
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.
PGA Tour career summary
* As of the 2023 season
n/a n/a 90 55 58 60 15 16 5 44 2 3 18 91 6 71 53 69 - -
U.S. national team appearances
See also
External links
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