SIGN UP Golf Digest Logo
SUBSCRIBE
The Loop
News & Tours
The Loop

Bubba finishes eagle, birdie to capture his first victory outside the U.S.

SHANGHAI, China -- Put a golf club in Bubba Watson's hands and he becomes the kid who insists on coloring outside the lines, running with scissors and sticking a square peg in a round hole. He is not going to put his pants on one leg at a time, but you can bet he'll try to put the cart before the horse. In other words, he's as conventional as garlic ice cream. Bubba Golf, a highball, high-wire, high-intrigue style of play that no one would copy even if they could, breaks a lot of rules. But it is truly something to behold, especially when it works, like at this year's Masters or at the Northern Trust Open, where he rallied with a pair of weekend 64s. And witness the events that unfolded Sunday at Sheshan International Golf Club, where Watson defeated Tim Clark on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the World Golf Championship-HSBC Champions. Moments after holing out a 60-foot bunker shot for eagle on the 72nd hole, Watson sank a 20-foot birdie putt for his seventh career win on the PGA TOUR and third victory of the calendar year. The win also was his first in a WGC event and first outside the U.S. "You never know what you're going to get with me," Watson, 36, said with a grin after a win that he could have made look easy, but then, after an inexplicable two-hole lapse, looked improbable until he pulled off one of the most miraculous recovery shots of the year. "I make it interesting, don't I?"

Golf Digest Logo

The Hit List

The best of Golf Digest delivered daily

Sign Up

Will be used in accordance with our PRIVACY POLICY

Share story