The Loop

Why Bubba Watson is closer to retiring than you think

December 07, 2015

Bubba Watson winning the Hero World Challenge over the weekend was by no means shocking, even if the two-time Masters winner was a late addition to the field. What might surprise golf fans, though, is how close Bubba is from walking away from golf. Well, according to Bubba, that is.

In his victory press conference, Watson was asked about a previous comment he made in which he said he'd retire once he racked up 10 professional wins. With Sunday's victory technically being No. 9, Watson clarified:

"Ten U.S. victories," he said. "I don’t count this as a PGA Tour victory. It counts as a victory. It’s very big for my career personally, but I don’t see it as 10."

Fair enough. However, he added this wrinkle to his retirement plans:

"I will give you this, though. If I ever become No. 1 in the world -- ever, somehow -- I'm walking away. I'm walking away on top," Watson said. "But let's be honest, nobody here's voting on that, right? Everybody thinks I'm not going to do that."

Nobody thinks you can do that, Bubba? Much crazier things have happened. Watson, 37, remained at No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking with his latest win, but he took a step closer to the Big Three by picking up 46 ranking points.

You never know, a third green jacket could be all Bubba needs to get to the top. As if we needed another interesting subplot to tune into the Masters in four months.