MASTERS POSTCARD: Bubba Watson's second coming

Bubba Watson emerged from his 2012 Masters hangover with a power and precision game plan. It helped him claim his second Green Jacket, as Brendan James reports from Augusta National

BY BRENDAN JAMES at AUGUSTA NATIONAL GC

When Bubba Watson won the 2012 Masters it was all about that shot.

That shot, of course, being the swashbuckling 164-yard gap wedge hooked from deep in the trees to 15 feet from the flag on the 10^th green to set up a birdie and a play-off victory over South African Louis Oosthuizen.

It was the height of golfing heroics under intense pressure and will long be remembered as one of the most incredible shots ever played in Masters history.

Bubba Watson poses with the Green Jacket after winning the 2014 Masters Tournament. PHOTO: Getty Images

Two years on and there were no heroics necessary to win his second Green Jacket, in what developed into a final round dual with playing partner Jordan Spieth, the 20-year-old phenom defying all the odds to contend in his first visit to Augusta National. Spieth put up a good fight, as did Sweden’s Jonas Blixt, who poked his nose clear of the other chasers, but the pair could not make up the three-shot deficit required to force a play-off with Watson.

Watson rattled off five consecutive pars after bludgeoning a birdie on the par-5 13^th to ensure his pursuers would have to do something special to catch him.

His birdie at the 510-yard (466-metre) 13^th was Bubba at his long-hitting best. It was almost like he was letting the field know “see what I can do when I really need to on this course.” The 35-year-old smashed his drive over the tops of the tall loblolly pines on the corner of the dogleg left and found the middle of the fairway, 366 yards (335 metres) away. He needed nothing more than a flick wedge to find the middle of the green and set up a carefree two-putt birdie.

The ease with which he conquered the hole seemed to suck much of the oxygen out of Spieth’s spirited campaign, which was hampered in the final round by a tendency to pull or hook the ball into trouble. He kept fighting though. When the youngster drowned his tee shot in Rae’s Creek at the par-3 12^th, he calmly pitched his third shot onto the sloping green and made the putt from just under 10 feet, minimizing the damage to just a bogey and leaving Watson with a two-shot buffer.

This was enough for Watson to step up a gear and inflict his assault on the 13^th. With his birdie safely secured, he walked to the 14^th tee with a three-shot lead that he maintained until the last putt dropped.

With the Green Jacket slipped over his shoulders, Watson confessed that the drive on 13, which was the nail in the coffin for his pursuers, was not exactly as he had intended.

Watson salutes the crowd after holing the winning putt. PHOTO: Getty Images

“Well, I'm not very smart, but I can tell it hit some trees, because I mean, that's not the line I really wanted to go on,” he laughed.

“I've hit it there a few times there. I've been lucky enough to play here many years and I've hit wedge to that hole a few times. Today I hit a sand wedge in there; I hit 56‑degree sand wedge in there.

“I knew it, when it (his drive) took off, it was cutting a little too much. I knew I hit it really hard. Obviously, when you get a roar on your tee shot, you know it's pretty good. I could start breathing again once I heard them clapping and roaring.”

Augusta National is a long-hitters course, which is seemingly custom-made for Watson, who also has the prerequisite shot-making skills to find plenty of fairways and hit aggressively to tight cut pin positions.

But the one question mark that has hung over his game has been his putting. Even when he won in 2012 he struggled with Augusta’s greens. In fact, in his five previous appearances in the Masters he never finished better than 27^th.

All that changed this year. He had only two three-putts on greens that were so fast and firm, many of the world’s best players were left scratching their heads.

The Australian assault at Augusta in 2014 showed promise at different stages but in the end it was only Queensland’s John Senden, who had the best opportunity to win heading into the final round.

John Senden blasts from a bunker during the final round. PHOTO: Getty Images

The 2006 Australian Open champion was just four shots behind Watson at the start of play and a birdie at the par-5 2^nd seemed promising but bogies at the 3^rd, 5^th and 6^th holes halted his momentum.

The 42-year-old finished at even par for the tournament and in a tie for 8^th place, which was his best ever finish in five Masters starts. It also ensures a start at the Masters next year.

“I felt like in my heart that if I was to keep it disciplined this week I could win,” he said. “I said last night that if I go out and shoot the round of my life, you're winning the tournament. And I really felt, in my own heart, going out there on the 1st tee, I could do that.

“But the golf course is just demanding, it just doesn't let up low scores. So if you can just stay patient and play great shots and get a little bit of luck, this place is gettable. But you have to hit shots all day. You can’t miss shots and expect to walk off with easy pars.

“It's one thing to come here and want to win the golf tournament and a Green Jacket. I saw Adam Scott do it last year and it was fantastic, it gave us all inspiration. We look up to Adam still.

“Now that he did open the door last year, with the Aussies, with the momentum coming in here, it was right there for us, really. I thought we were all playing well. It was just a matter of just going for it.”

Scott put up a good defense of his Green Jacket. He opened with a three under 69 and was still tied for third when he carded an even par 72 in the second round.

But it was clearly evident throughout the four days that the magic he had in his long putter when he won was not there. He burned the edge of the hole consistently and that dented the confidence enough that he started leaving birdie putts short.

“It's not been my best week with the putter,” he said. “My pace was off on the long putts. And when it gets on fire around here, you're going to have a lot of long putts.

“And I left so much work with them, that nothing was making distance. And I missed my share of them and had some three‑putts and it just makes it very hard to have really good scores every day around here when you do that.”

Likewise, Jason Day, coming off a six-week break to recuperate a thumb injury, battled with his putter over the course of the tournament but was still able to finish tied for 20^th.

"I think that I did a lot of good things this week, I just got to look at what needs to be improved for next year and then go on from there. It's playing tough for everyone out there. I felt like I hit the ball great, but just, like I said, I didn't putt too well," Day said after his final round of 72.

Day said he was just happy to be back playing and he's not worried about his left thumb injury and he's know looking forward to the US Open at Pinehurst.

"I went out there (Pinehurst) a couple of years ago, just to see how the course is out there and I played nine holes. The course looks great," he said.

"So we'll see how it goes. It's obviously difficult, different kind of grass. It obviously plays very difficult. So, once again, I'm going to have to probably get in there pretty early and kind of feel around with some wedges and make sure that I get used to the grass there."

Steven Bowditch had a great first visit to Augusta, finished tied for 26^th at four over. The 30-year-old, who played his way into the field with victory in the Valero Texas Open two weeks earlier, was not overawed by the experience and left his best until last with a 34 on the back nine at Augusta on Sunday afternoon.

The Aussies will be back in 2015, and it will be Bubba Watson they will all be chasing once again.

GOSS CLAIMS AUGUSTA FIRST

Oliver Goss will never forget his 20th birthday.

The Western Australian amateur had a brilliant 71 in the second round to make the cut by two strokes and, in doing so, claim the Silver Cup for low amateur at the Masters as no other amateur survived through to the weekend.

Oliver Goss poses with the Silver Cup and 2013 Masters Champion, Adam Scott. PHOTO: Getty Images

Wrapping up the amateur title gained plenty of press after the second round, so when he completed his third round on his birthday, the thousands of patrons surrounding the 18^th green sang him ‘Happy Birthday’.

"Yeah, they really have (taken me to heart)," Goss, who attended the University of Tennessee, said.

"I've got some Tennessee Volunteer fans, a lot of them, actually. And a lot of Australian fans, too.

"I feel a lot of the crowd is backing me and supporting me, which means a lot. The song was really cool.

"The week has been absolutely crazy. It's something I'm not used to.

"It's great. I'm just really glad to have all the support I'm getting from Tennessee and Australia. It's wonderful."

78^TH MASTERS LEADERBOARD

1. Bubba Watson (US) 69-68-74-69–280

T2. Jonas Blixt (Swe) 70-71-71-71–283

T2. Jordan Spieth (US) 71-70-70-72–283

4. Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp) 71-76-66-71–284

T5. Matt Kuchar (US) 73-71-68-74–286

T5. Rickie Fowler (US) 71-75-67-73–286