The Loop

PGA Tour pros sound off: Bubba Watson the least popular among his peers

Bubba Watson rolled into Magnolia Lane this year once again as the defending champion. What a sweet feeling that must be.

On the list of not-so-sweet feelings: If Bubba gets in a fight in the parking lot, apparently his fellow PGA Tour pros wouldn't have his back.

In this recent ESPN.com anonymous poll of PGA Tour players, 23 percent of pros polled said they wouldn't help Bubba in a fight. Here's the exact question:

_______ is in a fight in the parking lot. You're not helping him.

And just like he did last year on the back nine at Augusta, Bubba won this handily. The second-highest answer was Patrick Reed at 11 percent, followed by Rory Sabbatini and Robert Allenby at 9 percent.

This may not be the case for an average golf fan. Social-media metrics say that Bubba has the fourth-most impressions of any other tour pro, behind Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter. And his involvement with buddies Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan and Ben Crane in the band The Golf Boys has shown the lighter, fun side of Bubba.

But we've all witnessed the ugly side of Bubba, too -- lashing out at caddie Ted Scott, enough so that a hashtag #PrayForTedScott is used whenever Bubba is heard yelling on TV.

However, at the end of the day, I'm sure Bubba doesn't care much about leading the pack in this unpopularity contest. If he's leading everybody on top of the Masters scoreboard, he can fend for himself in the parking lot.