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Bubba’s second Masters win establishes him as a major force

Published

11 years ago

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It was shaping up to be a potentially all-time-special Masters Sunday.

The 54-hole leaderboard had a bit of everything: 15 players within five shots of the lead of all ages and experience levels. The final pairing of 20-year-old Jordan Spieth and 35-year old Bubba Watson would reflect the diverse leaderboard that also included 7th-ranked player Matt Kuchar paired with Sweden’s Jonas Blixt in the penultimate pairing a shot back and 25-year old Rickie Fowler playing alongside 50-year old Miguel Angel Jimenez, just two shots back. Oh, and don’t forget Fred Couples, the 1992 champion, for whom the Masters seems to be a one-week-a-year appointment with the Fountain of Youth.

In the end, the Green Jacket went to Watson, who fired a final-round 69 to win by three shots over Jordan Spieth and Jonas Blixt. With the victory, Watson, the 2012 champ, becomes the ninth player to win Masters two years apart. This year’s triumph saw him take control early and play steady golf over Augusta National’s famously volatile closing stretch to earn the victory.

The hard-hitting lefty’s second major championship win confirms the legitimacy of his first, especially in light of what had at times appeared mediocre and disinterested play between April 2012 and February 2014, when he seemed to find a spark. He followed a runner-up finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open with a victory at the Northern Trust Open, his first since the 2012 Masters.

Sunday’s performance was decisive, but not without drama. Watson opened with two pars, but his driver off the No. 3 tee put him out of position for his second shot and led to a bogey. True to form, though, he followed with a brilliant tee shot on the 243-yard par-3 fourth and rebounded with only the fourth birdie of the day on the hole after watching Jordan Spieth hole out from the front bunker. Few players have the ability to recover from such a mistake, but Watson proved his 2012 Masters victory was no fluke with the way he played after his early bogey.

The day’s main momentum swing came at the par-5 8th when Watson unleashed a 328-yard tee shot, leaving him within long iron range in two. While Watson made birdie, Spieth three-putted for bogey and both player were tied with 10 holes to play. Watson then birdied No. 9 while Spieth bogeyed to complete a four-shot swing in two holes, putting Watson in the lead for good.

Given the slightest cushion over Spieth and the rest of the field, Watson was able to bend the key parts of Augusta National Golf Club to his will. After his 328-yard bomb off the 8th tee, leading to a birdie, his hit a 366-yard drive that, in baseball terms, would be described as a “tape-measure shot.” A gap wedge from 144 yards remained and Watson two-putted for birdie to open up a three-shot lead that he would never relinquish. Two holes later, though, Watson had viewers and Masters patrons alike shaking their heads when, instead of laying up on the par-5 15th, he punched his second shot through a stand of pines left of the fairway to the collection area over the green, en route to a par. A bad break or poor execution would have brought a number of players back into the tournament, but Watson’s swashbuckling nature — termed “BubbaGolf” — would not be denied.

Early in the round, Spieth seemed poised to become only the second player since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to win the Masters on his first attempt, but a number of errant shots kept him from challenging Watson over the closing holes. His tee shot at the par-3 12th came up short in Rae’s Creek and even though he was able to drop and get up and down for bogey, his struggles gave Watson the cushion he needed. In a year when final-round leaders have seldom been steady, 2014’s first major played out more or less by the book. The leader didn’t squander shots over the closing stretch; he conserved them and coasted to an impressive win.

The challengers never gained enough momentum to mount a back-nine charge, leaving the final pairing as the sole main contenders. Matt Kuchar will have to wait another couple months to pursue his first major championship. His chances were scuttled by an overabundance of shots missed to the left all day, as well as a four-putt double-bogey on the par-3 fourth. These were just a few unforced errors that will leave him majorless at least a bit longer.

Jonas Blixt showed off his famously excellent touch on and around the greens throughout the day but a number of errant full shots kept him from having enough birdie chances to contend. In the end, though, General Lee owner Bubba Watson would ride again over the prim, proper hills of Augusta National.

Onward goes the tour to Harbour Town for the RBC Heritage next weekend, with one eye on the Village of Pinehurst until Father’s Day Weekend and the next chapter in 2014’s major championship story.

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Tim grew up outside of Hartford, Conn., playing most of his formative golf at Hop Meadow Country Club in the town of Simsbury. He played golf for four years at Washington & Lee University (Division-III) and now lives in Pawleys Island, S.C., and works in nearby Myrtle Beach in advertising. He's not too bad on Bermuda greens, for a Yankee. A lifelong golf addict, he cares about all facets of the game of golf, from equipment to course architecture to PGA Tour news to his own streaky short game.

11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Jake

    May 29, 2014 at 9:32 am

    Bubba is a great player! If I could change one part of his game, it would have to be his finish, however, you have to have respect for a guy without lessons

    Reply Report comment

  2. chris franklin

    Apr 14, 2014 at 4:06 pm

    Bubba is a refreshing change in the monotonous world of professional golf but to label him as a ‘major force’ is an extravagant piece of journalistic nonsense.
    He has won the same tournament over the same course twice,a tournament that hardly justifies calling itself a ‘major’but nevertheless a splendid achievement.
    His record in the Open,the US Open and PGA is not good and until such time as he wins one or more of those your label is a misnomer.

    Reply Report comment

  3. Jack

    Apr 14, 2014 at 1:03 pm

    No offense, but If your a contributing writer for a golf only site, you’d think you would know the majors by now. Why it is so hard to take any gear reviews on this site serious, never know the capabilities of the actual reviewer.

    Reply Report comment

    • Zak Kozuchowski

      Apr 14, 2014 at 2:27 pm

      Jack,

      You should know that our reviews are a team effort at GolfWRX. While we generally send clubs to a single reviewer for testing, nothing is published without me consulting at least one member of our panel of elite custom fitters to verify our tester’s findings and the performance of the club(s).

      In the coming months, we’ll do a better job of explaining what actually goes into our reviews so that readers like yourself can better understand what’s happening behind the scenes.

      Thanks for reading.

      Reply Report comment

  4. c masty

    Apr 14, 2014 at 12:05 pm

    Only 1 jacket is ever given, even to multi-year winners.

    Reply Report comment

    • Ponjo

      Apr 14, 2014 at 6:21 pm

      Wrong c nasty. Every time they win they get a jacket to hang in their locker

      Reply Report comment

  5. cole

    Apr 13, 2014 at 8:27 pm

    That seems to be becoming his course!

    Reply Report comment

  6. Boo

    Apr 13, 2014 at 8:10 pm

    Congrats Bubba! Bubba golf loves some Augusta National!

    Reply Report comment

  7. Ronald Montesano

    Apr 13, 2014 at 7:52 pm

    Isn’t the Players Championship a major?

    Reply Report comment

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 29, 2025

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jul 28, 2025

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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