Humble Bubba Joins the Augusta Greats

Scoff he may but he would have to concede even privately that he played brilliantly during the week and especially so on Sunday, winning his second Masters title at the age 35 to join Horton Smith, Jimmy Demaret and Arnold Palmer as two-time champions in six starts or less.

Watson’s three-under-par 69 playing in the final group gave him a 72-hole score of eight-under 280, three strokes better than playing partner Jordan Spieth who had shared the overnight lead with him heading into Sunday. Over the first seven holes of the final round, 20-year old Spieth was looking near untouchable in his bid to become the youngest Masters winner and only the second to win on debut, with early birdies tempered only by a bogey on five. When Watson hit close, Spieth either hit it closer or came up with something dramatic, like holing a bunker shot on the demanding fourth, to maintain the edge over his older opponent.

The mind raced back to 2011 when a 21-year old Rory McIlroy lead the field into the back nine only to implode in spectacular fashion to shoot 80. How would 2014’s young gun fare on the back nine, as the childhood dream of being in this moment becomes a glaring reality?

We could only contemplate this as, unfortunately, Spieth began to unravel before the back nine even started. An untidy pitch and three-putt bogey at the par-5 eighth was followed by the commitment of the cardinal sin in coming up short with his approach at the ninth for a second consecutive dropped shot.

The two Spieth bogeys were countered by two birdies from Watson, a four-stroke swing and the turning point in the respective mindsets of both players.

Spieth had a minor win with a scrambling par to Watson’s bogey at the 10th but compounded his earlier errors by finding the bank on 12 and spinning back into Rae’s Creek on his way to another bogey. From there on, Spieth had his work cut out to regroup mentally. The outcome of the tournament was in Watson’s hands and specifically, when he had the driver in hand.