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Bubba Watson Fires Final-Round 69 for Two-Shot Victory, His Third in Five Years at Riviera

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

In the two years since he last hoisted the winner’s trophy at Riviera Country Club, Bubba Watson admitted he contemplated retirement on several occasions, only to be talked out of it by his wife Angie.

All thoughts of trading in his clubs for a rocking chair melted in the bright sun last Sunday afternoon after the 39-year-old rebounded from three bogeys on the front nine to post a final-round 69 and capture the Genesis Open—his first PGA Tour title since winning the same tournament (then called the Northern Trust Open) in 2016.

“I was close to retiring but my wife basically told me to quit whining and play golf. She’s a lot tougher than I am. I get a paper cut and I’m out for a week. I would rather be healthy than play golf, so that’s what I was focusing on. I was focusing on the wrong things. Pitiful me, not how beautiful my life was.”

Watson entered the week No. 117 in the World Golf Rankings after his worst season in the FedEx Cup era, but he couldn’t have picked a better place to regain his championship form than the venue that seems tailor-made for his uncanny shot-shaping ability.

“It was the lowest point I’ve ever been at in the game,” he said. “I was starting to wonder if I’d ever win again.”

Now, he’s back on a high after jumping 76 spots to No. 41 (making him eligible for the upcoming World Golf Championship in Mexico), earning 500 FedEx Cup points and pocketing the $1,296,00 first-place check. Watson carved and sliced his way around, over and through Riviera’s signature eucalyptus trees to finish two shots ahead of Kevin Na and Tony Finau at 12 under par. With his 10th PGA Tour victory he also joined Hall of Famers Lloyd Mangrum and Ben Hogan as the only three-time winners at Riviera. Hogan won back-to-back LA Opens here in 1947-48 as well as the 1948 U.S. Open (also played at Riviera), earning the course off Capri Drive the nickname “Hogan’s Alley.” Mangrum won three LA Opens at Riviera (1949, 1951 and 1953) and a fourth at Rancho Park. The only other four-time LA Open champion is MacDonald Smith, who won his on four different courses, including Riviera in 1929. Arnold Palmer won the tournament three times in the 1960s, all at Rancho Park.

Watson clinched his win with an eight-foot par putt on the 72nd hole to hold off playing partners Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Smith, Ryan Moore and two-time winner Phil Mickelson, who pulled within one shot.

Watson drained clutch putts at the 11th, 12th and 13th holes, then clenched his fist after holing a blast-out from a greenside bunker at No. 14. He reached the green in two at the Par 5, 590-yard 17th, the longest hole on the course, then left his long, downhill eagle putt a few feet from the cup to set up an easy tap-in birdie and a two-shot lead.    

When he turned pro in 2003, Watson vowed to retire upon achieving his career goal of double-digit wins. Sunday’s triumph, stoked the two-time Masters champion’s fire for a few more years.

“Nobody thought Bubba Watson from Bagdad, Florida, would ever get to 10 wins, let’s be honest,” he said. “Without lessons, head case, hooking the ball, slicing the ball, can’t putt, you know? So, yes, I’ve got to set a new goal.”

Much of the pre-tournament hype centered around the return of Tiger Woods, who was playing the event for the first time since 2006.     

A 14-time major winner and former world No. 1, Woods wanted to play Riviera last year but skipped it to recover from back spasms suffered at the Dubai Desert Classic.

Fans lined the fairways at every hole to watch Woods, who shot 1-over Thursday but missed the cut  after a 5-over 76 Friday—only the 25th time he’s failed to make the cut since turning pro in 1996.

“I missed every tee shot left and I did not putt well, didn’t feel very good on the greens,” Woods said. “I knew I had to make a run on that back nine and I went the other way. My cut was just not cutting. It’s nice to be out competing again but I need more tournaments. One of my hallmarks my whole career is I’ve always hit the ball pin high with my iron shots. Right now I’m not doing that.”

Dustin Johnson, who vaulted to No. 1 in the world with his five-stroke win at Riviera last year, climbed from eight shots back to within four with a third-round 64, but he fell out of contention after a double bogey at No. 12 and a bogey at No. 16 Sunday. Four years ago, Watson closed with back-to-back 64s to beat Johnson for the first of his three Riviera titles.    

Cantlay, a UCLA alum regarded as one of the sport’s brightest prospects, was the co-leader after each of the first two rounds and had a one-shot lead heading to the back nine Sunday before tree trouble led to bogeys at 12 and 13. He pulled off one of the best shots of the tournament with a brilliant chip over the bunker to within inches of the flag on the sixth hole Saturday.

Moore began his final round red hot with an eagle-birdie to pull  within one of the lead, but dropped back after bogeys 9, 10 and 12.

Mickelson closed with a 68 to tie for sixth—his third straight top 10 finish after successful showings at Phoenix and Pebble Beach. “Lefty” has not won in nearly five years but he believes he is close to ending his drought.

“It’s nice to finally see the results, it’s encouraging and it motivates me to work harder to get over that last little hurdle,” said Mickelson, who won back-to-back Riviera titles in 2008 and 2009. “That’s going to happen really soon and when it does I think I’ll have multiple wins after that.”

Watson doesn’t shy away from the limelight in tinseltown. In fact,  he seems to enjoy the distractions.  He won Riviera two years ago amidst filming a cameo in “Girl Meets World.” This time, he played in the NBA All-Star celebrity game at Staples Center and made headlines when his baseline jumper got swatted out of bounds by Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady.

“He’s got just under 800 blocks for his career, so I gave him one more, you know?” Watson joked.