One of few left-handed tour golfers, Watson has consistently been among the longest drivers; in 2007, he had an average drive of 315.2 yards (288.2m). He can hit a ball over 350 yards (320m) and up to 194mph (312km/h).[6][7] He has finished top of the driving distance statistics five times, during the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, and 2014 seasons.
Watson turned professional in 2002 and joined the Nationwide Tour, 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 PGA Tour. As a rookie in 2006, he earned $1,019,264 (90th overall) and led the PGA Tour in driving distance at 319.6 yards (292.2m). His longest drive in professional competition was 424 yards (388m) 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.
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.
2011
On January 30, 2011, Watson won his second PGA Tour event, the Farmers Insurance Open, finishing one stroke ahead of runner-up Phil Mickelson.[10] Watson picked up his second win of the 2011 season and third career PGA Tour title on May 1 when he defeated Webb Simpson at the second playoff hole at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.[11] 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 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.[12]
Watson began the year with three top-5 finishes in seven events, including finishing second at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.[13]
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 Peter Hanson. 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 Louis Oosthuizen 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 220 yards (200m) away, while Watson's ball landed deep in the woods on pine straw, 164 yards (150m) 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.[14][15] The win took him to a world ranking of four, a career-high at the time.[16]
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.[13]
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.
Watson earned his fifth career PGA Tour victory—and his first since the 2012 Masters—at the 2014Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. He shot back-to-back 64s over the weekend to defeat runner-up Dustin Johnson by two strokes.[17] 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.[18] Those performances elevated him from 14 to 12 in the world ranking.[19]
Second Masters win
Watson won the Masters by three shots, with a score of 280 (−8).[20] He entered the final round tied for the lead with 20-year-old Masters rookie Jordan Spieth. 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.[21] 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 Jonas Blixt.[22] With the win, Watson became the 17th player to win the Masters two or more times.[23] The win moved him again to number four in the Official World Golf Ranking.[19]
Prior to the Waste Management Phoenix Open in early February, Watson caused a bit of controversy after publicly admitting his dislike for the course, TPC Scottsdale.[24] As a result, he was jeered by fans for the majority of the tournament, later criticizing the media for "turning his words around".[25] 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.[26]
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.[1]
2018
The 2018 season started with a T7 at the QBE Shootout 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 Genesis Open 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 Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Lloyd Mangrum, and Macdonald Smith. 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.[1] 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).[27]
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.[28]
2022
On July 29, 2022, Watson announced that he had joined LIV Golf as a non-playing team captain for the remainder of the season while he recovered from a torn meniscus, with the intention of returning to play from 2023.[29] On August 10, he announced that he had resigned from the PGA Tour.[30]
Personal life
Watson's father, Gerry Sr.,[3] died on October 15, 2010, of throat cancer.[31][32] His mother is Molly Marie Watson and he has a sister, Melinda Watson Conner.[4] Watson was nicknamed by his father after the former professional American football player Bubba Smith.[8]
Bubba Watson's wife, Angie (née Angela Ball), is a 6ft 3in (1.91m)Canadian whom he met at Georgia while he was on the golf team and she was on the women's basketball team.[3] They were married in September 2004.[33] In 2009, she was diagnosed with an enlarged pituitary gland, which accounts for her height.[34]
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.[15] In March 2012, one week after a potential adoption fell through at the last moment,[15] Watson and his wife adopted a one-month-old baby boy named Caleb.[35] 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.[36]
Watson purchased a General Lee car from the television series The Dukes of Hazzard at auction for $110,000 in 2012.[45] 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.[46]
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 WahoosMinor League Baseball team,[47][48] and purchased a Chevrolet dealership in nearby Milton, Florida.[49] Watson has made significant donations to the Studer Family Children's Hospital in Pensacola.[50]
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.
Thomas Sturges Watson is an American retired professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly on the PGA Tour.
Philip Alfred Mickelson is an American professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including five major championships: two Masters titles, two PGA Championships, and one Open Championship (2013). With his win at the 2021 PGA Championship, Mickelson became the oldest major championship winner in history at the age of 50 years, 11 months, and 7 days. He is nicknamed Lefty, as he plays left-handed.
Adam Derek Scott is an Australian professional golfer who plays mainly on the PGA Tour. He was the World No. 1 ranked golfer, from mid-May to August 2014. He has won 31 professional tournaments around the world, on many of golf's major tours.
Justin Peter Rose, is an English professional golfer. Rose first achieved significant media attention when he finished fourth place at the 1998 Open Championship as an amateur. He turned pro the next day but struggled during his first couple of years as a professional, making few cuts. In the early 2000s, however, he had success, winning his first European Tour event in 2002 and ultimately leading the tour's Order of Merit in 2007. In the ensuing years, Rose focused primarily on the United States, winning a number of notable tournaments, culminating with a victory at the 2013 U.S. Open. Rose has continued with success since then, earning a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing runner-up at the 2017 Masters, and reaching number one in the world for the first time in 2018.
John Bradley "J.B." Holmes is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Peter Daniel Hanson is a Swedish former professional golfer who played on the European Tour and the PGA Tour.
Matthew Gregory Kuchar is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and formerly the Nationwide Tour. He has won nine times on the PGA Tour. Kuchar briefly enjoyed success in the early 2000s before suffering a slump where he struggled to maintain his playing status on the PGA Tour. He rejuvenated himself and built a new, one-plane swing from 2008 onward leading to improved results. Kuchar was the PGA Tour's leading money winner in 2010.
Lodewicus Theodorus "Louis" Oosthuizen is a South African professional golfer who won the 2010 Open Championship. He has finished runner-up in all four major championships: the 2012 Masters Tournament, the 2015 and 2021 U.S. Open, the 2015 Open Championship, and the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2021. His highest placing on the Official World Golf Ranking is fourth, which he reached in January 2013.
Martin Charles Campbell Laird is a Scottish professional golfer, playing on the PGA Tour. He has won four PGA Tour events in his career, most recently the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in 2020. Until Russell Knox earned his card via the 2011 Nationwide Tour, Laird was the only Scottish player on the PGA Tour.
Martin Kaymer is a German professional golfer who currently plays on the LIV Golf League. A winner of two major championships, he was also the No. 1 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking for eight weeks in 2011.
Dustin Hunter Johnson is an American professional golfer. He has won two major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 and the 2020 Masters Tournament with a record score of 268, 20-under-par. He had previously finished in a tie for second at both the 2011 Open Championship and the 2015 U.S. Open. He has six World Golf Championships victories, with only Tiger Woods having won more, and was the first and only player to win each of the four World Golf Championship events. He has played in The LIV Golf League since 2022.
The 2010 PGA Championship was the 92nd PGA Championship, played August 12–15 at the Straits Course of the Whistling Straits complex in Haven, Wisconsin.
Jordan Alexander Spieth is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion.
Kevin James Kisner is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
The 2012 Masters Tournament was the 76th Masters Tournament, held April 5–8 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Bubba Watson won the year's first major championship on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff, defeating Louis Oosthuizen. It was his first major title and his fourth victory on the PGA Tour. Watson was the eighth consecutive first-time major champion, and the 14th winner in as many majors. He won a second Masters two years later in 2014.
The 2014 PGA Championship was the 96th PGA Championship, played August 7–10 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. This was the third PGA Championship at Valhalla, which previously hosted in 1996 and 2000, both won in playoffs, as well as the Ryder Cup in 2008.
The 2014 WGC-HSBC Champions was a golf tournament played 6–9 November 2014 at the Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai, China. It was the sixth WGC-HSBC Champions tournament, and the fourth of four World Golf Championships events held in the 2014 calendar year.
The 2019 Masters Tournament was the 83rd edition of the Masters Tournament and the first of golf's four major championships in 2019, held between April 11 and 14 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
The 2021 PGA Championship was the 103rd PGA Championship, held May 20–23 in South Carolina at Kiawah Island Golf Resort's Ocean Course on Kiawah Island. It was the second major championship at the Ocean Course; the PGA Championship in August 2012 was won by Rory McIlroy.
The 2021 United States Open Championship was the 121st U.S. Open, the national open golf championship of the United States. It was a 72-hole stroke play tournament that was played June 17–20 on the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, San Diego, California. The South Course previously hosted in 2008, which was won by Tiger Woods in a playoff.
↑ Wildes, Michael (October 12, 2011). "Formerly Known". The Christian Manifesto. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
United States 
