Looking Back at Who to Watch for 2012: Bubba Watson

It still catches some people off guard. That pink driver. Doesn’t deter his game one iota.

Heading into 2012, no one knew what to expect from Bubba Watson. It did take him 122 starts in order to nab his first PGA TOUR win which came in 2010 at The Travelers, but after that, Watson would take home two more trophies in 2011 (Farmers Insurance and Zurich Classic). Those two victories came within his next 20 tournaments. Seemed like 2012 would offer at least a chance for Watson to further display the uncanny talent he possesses. That might be the primary reason Watson was named by PGATOUR.com as their #8 player to watch for 2012.

That talent could not have shone brighter than with this shot at, of all places, Augusta National…

In Watson’s post-tournament presser, he said stated that if he has a swing, he has a shot. And the particular shot you just watch was no finer example. Hook it 40 yards? Seriously? And on the second playoff hole? Un-stinking-beliveable!

The unfortunate side for Watson, as if winning The Masters can even be thought of as unfortunate, is that he would not win again in 2012. He did garner a pair of 2nd place finishes (WGC-Cadillac and T2 at The Travelers, the place of his first PGA TOUR win) and made the cut in 16 of 19 events.

Watson’s shot creativity and grinding mentality does lend itself to some exciting play. Ask Aaron Oberholser…

"“He’s one of the most eclectic and exciting players in the game.”– Aaron Oberholser on his evaluation of Watson (via PGATOUR.com)"

After his win at Augusta, Watson made his rounds that go along with the win. Making those rounds, along with other circumstances, took a toll on Watson both mentally and physically. But that toll was not all bad (again, he did win The Masters) as Bubba and his wife had also been going through the adoption process. The struggles of golf were minimal by comparison.

Sept. 22, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Watson tees off the 3rd hole during the third round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club. (Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports)

After capturing the Green Jacket and making all the appearances, Watson would go to New Orleans to defend his title at the Zurich Classic as he managed a T18. Then, a much needed break. He would not enter another tournament until The Memorial where he would miss the cut.

The positive for the remainder of 2012 would be that Watson would make the top 25 in all the remaining tournaments where he made the cut. 2012 was fruitful as he finished 5th in both the FedEx Cup standings and the money list. He was also nominated for PGA TOUR Player of the Year.

Bubba would make the US Ryder Cup team and he won two of his four matches. He would again partner with Presidnets Cup buddy Webb Simpson to defeat Paul Lawrie and Peter Hanson 5&4 in their fourballs match which was the Friday afternoon opener. The duo would drop their foursomes match, 1-up, to the European pair of Justin Rose and Ian Poulter. They exacted some revenge on Rose as the Brit was paired with Italy’s Francesco Molinari as the Watson-Simpson pairing won take home another 5&4 match in fourball. Bubba was defeated 2&1 in the Sunday singles by Luke Donald.

Watson’s 2012 major finishes:

The Masters: won in playoff
US Open: MC
The Open Championship: T23
PGA Championship: T11

If you could pick any tournament to snare a win for any year, The Masters would arguably be the one you would want to win. Watson now has his major and 2013 could prove to be another multi-win campaign. Winning another major is surely in the cards for him since we have already witnessed that Bubba Golf can create the spectacular from nothing.

To check out the others in this series…

#10 Rickie Fowler
#9 Dustin Johnson

This series is taken from PGATOUR.com’s listing of their top 100 players to watch for this past year.