Bubba Watson won the first of many majors in his growing career. |
When Sunday's final round of the Master's began, Bubba Watson was a bit of an afterthought. Yes, he was only 3 back of Saturday's leader Peter Hanson and was playing seriously consistent golf(-3,-1,-2) but between Phil Mickleson's masterful 6 under 3rd round and Louis Oosthuizen's annoying but scintillating last name, Watson wasn't really on the mind of the those watching Sunday's performance. That was until Sunday's final pairings actually began.
The final round of the Masters exploded out of the gates thanks to the tournament's first ever albatross by the little Hobbit man himself, Louis Oosthuizen. The South African immediately jumped into the lead at 10 under. So before the viewers could even catch their breathe, Oosthuizen had taken over, but that still didn't deter them from rooting hard for Phil Mickelson all the way through. Lefty triple bogeyed the fourth hole forcing himself to be aggressive to get back to the top. Phil kept pushing all the way to the end, yet couldn't overcome his hideous blunder. So while the South African and the beloved American battled each other through raucous applauses, Watson quietly kept chipping away at the lead.
The 14th hole was where Bubba Watson broke through. He teed off the par-4 with a beautiful bomb right in the middle of the fairway and then equaled the drive with a masterful approach shot in which he looked to overshoot the green only to spin the ball back close to the hole. Cool as ever, Watson nailed the birdie putt and then our leaders were tied. As the rest of the country watched and prayed for Lefty to make a dramatic run to the top spot, the two leaders conservatively pared their way to a playoff.
Once both Oosthuizen and Watson missed their birdie putts on 18, Americans instantly swung their attention to the Florida-born 33-year old. Each pared the first playoff hole on 18, sending the two to the 10th hole where the tournament was ultimately decided.
Watson was up first to tee off. Right as he connected with his drive he raised his right hand and pointed in the same direction. It was a frozen moment. Watson stood there signaling to the anxious crowd around him, and the Americans watching on television, that he had blown it. That he had let his country down. That his drive was sailing wildly to right most likely along with his chance at a green jacket. But he calmly picked up his tee, said a few relaxed words to his caddy and proceeded to watch Louis Oosthuizen do what everyone thought he would do, hit a conservative 3-wood drive right down the middle of the fairway. But instead the South African shanked his ball similarly, though not as dramatically, to the right. This breathed life back into Watson. Oosthuizen followed up his poor drive, with an even worse approach shot leaving it short of the green. Bubba was fortunate to have a quality lie in the pine needles. The crowd formed a lane for what would be seen as the shot of the tournament. Watson lifted his shot and hooked it exactly as planned and landed the shot within nine feet of the hole, and now, barring a Hobbit-like miracle it was Watson's hole, and tournament, to win.
Bubba Watson's 2012 Masters never really encapsulated that wild drama that plenty of Masters victories before him have. He played a consistent game all the way and made it count when it mattered. Yes his magical approach from the pine needles will surely go down as the defining moment of his tournament, but his consistency round-to-round was the difference. Bubba Watson celebrated his first Masters win in the only fashion we appreciate, a face full of grateful tears and a round of hearty hugs. This won't be Watson's last major victory and it might not be his most memorable but the image of his pink driver, wild swing and luscious flow will be forever seared into the memories of golf fans forever.
Congratulations Bubba, see you in June.
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