Bubba Watson

The 2018 season started with a T7 at the QBE Shootout in December 2017 marking the best of his first six starts. Watson returned to the winner's circle with a 12-under finish at the Genesis Open in February, his third victory at this tournament (2014, 2016), all at Riviera. His trifecta at the Genesis (previously known as the Los Angeles Open, Northern Trust Open, and Nissan Open) makes him only the fifth to win this long-standing event at least three times, along with Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Lloyd Mangrum, and Macdonald Smith. On March 25, he gained his eleventh tour win at the WGC-Dell Match Play event in Austin, Texas, with a winner's share of $1.7 million. On June 24, 2018, he won again at the Travelers Championship winning $1.26 million at TPC River Highlands. This was his third career victory at the Travelers tournament (2010, 2015).

Watson did not chalk a win during the 2017 season, and missed the cut at three of the year's four majors (his only cut a T27 at The Open Championship). He had five top-10 finishes with more than $1.3 million in tour earnings.

In September 2018, Watson qualified for the U.S. team participating in the 2018 Ryder Cup. Europe defeated the U.S. team 17 1/2 to 10 1/2. Watson went 1–2–0. He lost his singles match against Henrik Stenson.

Watson won the Travelers Championship to move him to third in the Official World Golf Ranking. He garnered his second victory in 2015 by winning the unofficial Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, besting fellow American Patrick Reed by three strokes.

In 2015, Watson moved to Pensacola, where he has become very involved in the community. Among other ventures, Watson opened an ice cream store, purchased a part ownership in the Pensacola Blue Wahoos Minor League Baseball team. and purchased a Chevrolet dealership in nearby Milton, Florida. Watson has made considerable donations to Studer Family Children's Hospital in Pensacola. He recently announced that he plans to run for mayor of Pensacola at some future date.

After finishing tied 14th place in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he returned to the Masters as the defending champion. Never in contention in the tournament, he finished 50th after a final round of 77. Watson tied for 37th at The Players Championship. On the second major of the year, the U.S. Open, he finished with a solid 71 in the first round, just four shots off the lead, but a second round score of 76 left him out of contention, and he tied for 32nd. At the Travelers Championship he took the lead after a second round of 67, but in the final round, leading by one with three to play, he triple-bogeyed the par-3 16th and finished two shots back in 4th place.

Watson earned his fifth career PGA Tour victory—and his first since the 2012 Masters—at the 2014 Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. He shot back-to-back 64s over the weekend to defeat runner-up Dustin Johnson by two strokes. The victory raised him to 14 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He followed that win with two more strong finishes—a ninth-place tie in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and a second-place tie in the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Those performances elevated him from 14 to 12 in the world ranking.

Watson no longer carries the Ping Anser 1 Milled like the model with which he won the 2014 Masters. PING recognized the accomplishment by making him a solid gold putter worth $30,000 in gold (as of 2014), rather than a gold platted putter as is the norm for their winners.

Watson purchased the mansion in the Isleworth community of Windermere, Florida, that was previously owned by Tiger Woods. In 2013, he was added to the list of Great Floridians by Governor Rick Scott.

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

Watson's first major championship win came at the Masters. He began the final round at six-under-par, three strokes off the lead, held by Peter Hanson. On the back nine, Watson bogeyed the par-3 12th hole to return to even par for the round. He then recorded four consecutive birdies for a round of 68 (-4) and tied for the 72-hole lead with fourth-round playing partner Louis Oosthuizen at ten-under-par. In the sudden-death playoff, Oosthuizen and Watson both made par on the uphill 18th hole. On the next hole, the downhill 10th, both drove their tee shots towards the woods to the right of the hole. Oosthuizen's landed in the rough 220 yards (200 m) away, while Watson's ball landed deep in the woods on pine straw, 164 yards (150 m) from the pin without a clear shot to the green. Watson executed a miraculous recovery shot with 40 yards of hook on his 52-degree gap wedge and stopped the ball within fifteen feet of the hole. Oosthuizen's approach shot landed short of the green, but he chipped past the hole and narrowly missed his lengthy putt for par. Watson trickled his birdie putt a foot past the hole, took his time on the very short par putt, then made it for the emotional victory. The win took him to a world ranking of four, a career-high at the time.

Watson purchased a General Lee car from the television series The Dukes of Hazzard at auction for $110,000 in 2012. Following the Charleston church shooting in June 2015, display of the Confederate flag - which is featured on the car's roof - became the subject of renewed controversy. Watson responded by saying he would paint over the flag with the American flag.

Watson no longer carries the 52° Ping Tour W wedge like he used for his recovery shot winning him the 2012 Masters. This club is one of the few gold-plated non-putters in the Ping Gold Putter Vault.

On January 30, 2011, Watson won his second PGA Tour event, the Farmers Insurance Open, finishing one stroke ahead of runner-up Phil Mickelson. Watson picked up his second win of the 2011 season and third career PGA Tour title on May 1 when he defeated Webb Simpson at the second playoff hole at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Both players birdied the first playoff hole, with Watson holing a 12-footer; he birdied the next hole to win the tournament.

In July 2011, Watson provoked controversy by criticizing the Alstom Open de France on the European Tour, in which he was playing under a sponsor's exemption. He indicated after his first round that he would not be playing any further events on the European Tour, and complained after his second round about security and organization at the tournament.

In 2011, he made a humorous appearance in the song "Michael Jackson" by Christian hip hop artist Andy Mineo on the album Formerly Known. He was featured in the song "Ima Just Do It" by KB, another Christian hip hop artist, on the album Tomorrow We Live. His prototype Golf Cart Hovercraft, the BW1, YouTube video has earned more than 8 million views.

Watson claimed his first PGA Tour win on June 27, 2010, in Cromwell, Connecticut, at the Travelers Championship on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with Corey Pavin and Scott Verplank. Watson tearfully dedicated the win to his parents, specifically his father who was battling cancer.

Unable to have a child naturally, various family issues, including the illness and death of Watson's father in 2010, kept them from attempting to adopt until 2011–12. In March 2012, one week after a potential adoption fell through at the last moment, Watson and his wife adopted a one-month-old baby boy named Caleb. In late 2014 the Watsons adopted a baby girl.

Watson's father, Gerry Sr., died on October 15, 2010 of throat cancer. His mother is Molly Marie Watson and he has a sister, Melinda Watson Conner.

*Note: The 2008 CVS Caremark Charity Classic was stopped after 28 holes due to heavy rain.

Watson is among the longest drivers on the PGA Tour; in 2007 he had an average drive of 315.2 yards (288.2 m) and can hit a ball over 350 yards (320 m), capable of generating a ball speed up to 194 mph (312 km/h). He has finished top of the driving distance statistics five times in his career, during the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, and 2014 seasons.

Watson played well at the 2007 U.S. Open. He was in the final group on Saturday after shooting rounds of 70-71 (+1) at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh. Watson was one stroke off the lead after 36 holes but then slipped, shooting 74 (+4) in both the third and fourth rounds; he finished in a tie for fifth.

Watson was nicknamed by his father after the former professional American football player Bubba Smith. Watson is married to Angela "Angie" Watson (née Ball), a 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Canadian whom he met at Georgia while he was on the golf team and she was on the women's basketball team. They were married in September 2004. In 2009, she was diagnosed with an enlarged pituitary gland, which accounts for her height.

Watson turned professional in 2002 and joined the Nationwide Tour where he played until 2005. He finished 21st on the Nationwide Tour's money list in 2005, making him the last player to qualify for the following year's PGA Tour. As a rookie in 2006, he earned $1,019,264 (90th overall) and led the PGA Tour in driving distance at 319.6 yards (292.2 m). His longest drive in professional competition was 424 yards (388 m) on the PGA Tour at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Watson was born and raised in Bagdad, Florida, near Pensacola. He played on the golf team at Milton High School, which had featured future PGA Tour members Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley just before he attended. Watson played golf for Faulkner State Community College in nearby Baldwin County, Alabama, where he was a junior college All-American. He transferred to the University of Georgia, the defending NCAA champions, and played for the Bulldogs in 2000 and 2001. As a junior, Watson helped lead the Bulldogs to the SEC title in 2000.

Gerry Lester "Bubba" Watson Jr. (born November 5, 1978) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. One of the few left-handed golfers on tour, he is a multiple major champion, with victories at the Masters Tournament in 2012 and 2014. In February 2015, Watson reached a career-high 2nd place in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Watson was runner-up to Martin Kaymer at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, falling in the three-hole aggregate playoff that initially included Dustin Johnson, before he incurred a two-stroke penalty on the 72nd hole. Watson led the playoff after a birdie on the first hole, but Kaymer birdied the par-3 second hole to tie, effectively turning the playoff into sudden-death. Watson's second shot found the water hazard and Kaymer bested him by a stroke to win the major championship.

Watson began the season playing the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, where he finished tied for fourth place, and reached the quarterfinals in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. In the subsequent World Golf Championship event, the WGC-Cadillac Championship, he began very strong with rounds of 66 and 69, but finished with rounds of 71 and 75 and tied for 18th place.

Tying for 30th at the Greenbrier Classic, he then played in the third major of the year, The Open Championship. After two solid rounds of 70 and 73, he shot 77 in the third round, and tied for 32nd.