The echoes of the day they barked in the cathedral of pines have long ago drifted away on the breeze.
Bubba Watson’s wild, winning overtime wedge out of the woods has been crated and stored in the hall of Masters memories. His impromptu family reunion on the 10th green after beating Luis Oosthuizen on the second playoff hole is going to be a great story to tell the grandkids one day.
It is coming up on a year since the one-time Georgia Bulldog won the green jacket — a Bubba crashing one of the ultimate exclusive clubs to the sound of the gallery woofing its approval. In that interval, Watson has crossed some personal peaks and had himself a grand time in the process.
He has been a Bulldog in absentia — Athens was not included on his Masters Victory Tour. Rather, he uprooted from Arizona and moved into a real fixer-upper: Tiger Woods’ scandal-era Orlando, Fla., home.
Don’t try to tell him to watch out for the fire hydrant or crack any other jokes about the bad marital Karma in the place.
Bubba, you really moved into Tiger’s house?
“No, now it’s my house,” he told the news-conference audience at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month.
“He made a mistake. I forgave him, and he’s living through that. No, I see nothing wrong with me buying his house, and the people that make the jokes, they’re dumb,” he added.
Around the time of his Masters victory, the Watson’s adoption of son Caleb was complete, and thus, he said, “When I go back this year, it’s going to be a celebration of our boy and a win.”
Caleb is the one with the cool daddy.
No one figured the guy from Bagdad Fla. named Bubba would be a stodgy champion. Consistent with his style on the course — swing from the heels, use a verdant imagination to escape the trouble that ensues — Watson has not forgotten how to have a good time.
“I look at it that it’s amazing that I even get to play in the Masters, and then to win it is a dream come true,” Watson said. “But I don’t feel any different.”
To recount, in the year since Watson’s major breakthrough, he has:
- Tweeted a photoshopped picture of "The General Lee" — the bright orange '69 Dodge from the old "Dukes of Hazzard" TV show — in flight in front of the Augusta National clubhouse. He bought the car shortly before last year's Masters. He'd really shake up the place if he drove that up Magnolia Lane this year.
- Appeared in two "Golf Boys" farcical rap videos with three fellow PGA Tour pros. His look did not exactly scream sophistication: Shirtless, in bib overalls, oversized white-framed sunglasses while displaying a thatch of chest hair of U.S. Open-rough quality
- Graced the cover of a Masters Historic Edition video game, sharing space with Bobby Jones. Which of the greats would he like to employ while playing? "Obviously I really want to play myself. I mean, what kids growing up didn't want to play themselves on a video game?" he said. One secret to being Bubba is to never let on that you have completed the growing-up process.
- Hung out with the guys of "Duck Dynasty," A&E's popular reality show. Oddly, though, we learned that not everyone named Bubba likes to hunt. "I don't like guns. I don't like shooting," Watson said. "But I said I'd go duck hunting with them. Next year we might sneak out there and go duck hunting with them."
- Recently showed up in another video, aboard a hovercraft converted into a golf cart. He was happily gliding over water hazards, flying past other players who might has well have been riding donkeys.
Notably, what hasn’t happened over that year-long carnival is winning another golf tournament.
The Masters was a springboard to many things for Watson. It raised his profile immensely and lent credibility to his go-for-broke game. It has not, however, catapulted him to more titles.
In the 17 PGA Tour Events he has played since winning the Masters, Watson’s best finish was a second in last year’s Travelers Championship. He has had four top-10 finishes and 13 top-25s. His best finish in a major was 11th at the PGA Championship.
“I’ve had some good tournaments. I’ve played some solid golf, consistent golf, just not good enough to win,” said Watson, a four-time PGA Tour winner. “It took me five years (on Tour) to win the first time. If it takes me five more years to win, I’ll accept it because I’d be winning again.”
Watson’s rankings entering the Masters speak to a capable, not spectacular, start to this season: 14th in the world ranking; 36th in money winnings; 42nd in scoring average.
Whether he can corral his game in time to make a serious run at defending the green jacket is one of the big non-Tiger Woods questions entering the Masters. Watson finding a way to indulge his fun-seeking should not be an issue, however.
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