Tag: Bubba Watson

Pensacola’s Bubba Watson has followed the model Detroit’s Dan Gilbert put in place

Bubba Watson modeled his investments in Pensacola after what Quicken Loans/Rocket Mortgage founder Daniel Gilbert has done in Detroit. 

DETROIT — One community is nestled along the Gulf of Mexico, its sandy white beaches and sunny climes a winter retreat for hockey-loving northerners.

The other community … well, it’s comprised of the aforementioned northerners.

But if you ask PGA Tour star Bubba Watson, there are common threads running through the cities of Pensacola, Florida and Detroit. Watson, who was a driving force behind a new nine-hole charity exhibition at Detroit Golf Club, happens to be one of them. He’s a recognizable name working to invest into the community in which he was reared.

And he said on Wednesday he’s modeled his investments in Pensacola after what Quicken Loans/Rocket Mortgage founder Daniel Gilbert has done in Detroit.

Gilbert is the richest person in Michigan with a net worth of $6.5 billion, and he’s been adamant about investing large sums back into the Detroit area.

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Meanwhile, Watson, who has made over $45 million on the PGA Tour, has tried to follow in the same vein, albeit at a smaller level — opening an ice cream shop in downtown Pensacola and purchasing a car dealership in Milton. In 2017, Watson donated $1.6 million to The Studer Family Children’s Hospital. He became an owner of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, a Double-A franchise in the Southern League.

Investing in Pensacola wasn’t an automatic decision for Watson once he’d achieved success on the PGA Tour; he took his time in finding sensible opportunities and reliable partners to work with.

He feels like that’s akin to Gilbert’s efforts in the Motor City.

“When you think about what Dan Gilbert has done for Detroit, there’s a lot of avenues he’s touched and been a part of in a great way; his companies, him, personally, all those things,” Watson said. “And when I think about what I want to do for Pensacola, I learned from people like him. So when you think about what he’s done and tried to do for Detroit, I want to do that in a smaller way in Pensacola, where I was born and raised and now live.”

Gilbert was a driving force behind the Rocket Mortgage Classic moving to Detroit Golf Club, a Donald Ross design, in 2019, and Watson wanted to be part of the fun. Last year, the lefty bomber missed the cut, but he still enjoyed the experience, and wanted to make a bigger splash this year at Gilbert’s event.

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“I learn from people like him through different tournaments, different pro-ams, and when he wanted to put this tournament here in Detroit, I was all in. Owning a car dealership with Chevy, GM being up here, there was just so many angles that just touched my heart,” Watson said. “And what he’s been able to accomplish on and off, charity dollars and business-wise, it was a no-brainer for me. And then when the Tour, I took the idea to the Tour, they blessed me with the opportunity.

“Obviously, with the Rocket Mortgage team behind us, they let us do it and run wild with it. So it was a dream come true that they let me do it.”

If Watson wants more cash to invest in Pensacola, he’ll will need to ramp up his game, which has slipped a bit in the past two weeks after a strong post-break start when he went T-7 at the Charles Schwab Challenge. In the past two weeks, Bubba finished T-52 at the RBC Heritage and then missed the cut at the Travelers Championship.

But this week, Watson started off strong with the exhibition win, something he hopes will carry over into Thursday’s play. He tees off at 12:50 p.m. in a featured group with Brendon Todd and Jason Day.

“I’ve been hitting it good. I missed the cut last week, I just putted — I hit a lot of lip-outs. So I actually feel like I putted well, stats don’t show that, and I think I hit it well last week. So I really feel good,” Watson said. “This is going into my, what, fourth week in a row. I really feel good about my game and I’m confident where I’m at. Obviously, we’ve still got to score, though, so we’ve got to somehow get that ball in the hole.”

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Bubba Watson, Harold Varner III win Rocket Mortgage Classic exhibition, raise nearly $1 million

Bubba Watson and Harold Varner III teamed up to beat Jason Day and Wesley Bryan, 3-up, in a nine-hole charity exhibition at Detroit Golf Club.

If you combine a good cause with good friends in good spirits playing some pretty good golf, you get exactly what you got Wednesday: A good time.

Almost too good a time.

Bubba Watson and Harold Varner III teamed up to beat Jason Day and Wesley Bryan, 3-up, in a nine-hole charity exhibition at Detroit Golf Club, which hosts the first round of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic on Thursday.

Watson helped organize the event, which raised nearly $1 million for the tournament’s initiative to help end the digital divide in Detroit and ensure every resident has access to the internet, technology and digital-literacy training.

Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert’s philanthropy in Detroit inspired Watson to put the match together.

“And then when the Tour, I took the idea to the Tour, they blessed me with the opportunity,” he said. “Obviously with the Rocket Mortgage team behind us, they let us do it and run wild with it. So it was a dream come true that they let me do it.”

With Tour commissioner Jay Monahan watching the group tee off on the 10th hole from a safe distance, the antics started right away when someone mentioned Watson would tee off first.

“I’m teeing off first!” Varner insisted like a jealous sibling, as he began to tee up his ball. “He always goes first.”

And go first he did again.

It was a casual match, with players walking and talking the whole time, much like a practice round. On the 12th green, Day stood near the hole when Watson missed a 20-footer for birdie. Watson shot him a glare and said, “You wished that out.”

Day took it a step further.

“I willed that out,” he said. “I didn’t wish that out.”

As they walked off the green, Varner had a question.

“Hey, Bubba,” he said. “How do you hit it so far when you’re so old?”

Varner is 29. Watson is 41.

“It’s God-given,” Watson said, before he blasted a towering fade over the trees on the 13th hole.

The teasing was incessant. When Varner dropped an iron on the 13th tee that knocked his ball off the tee, players yelled at him: “Penalty!”

The players walked the course. But Varner fell behind and hitched a ride in a cart to the 14th tee. As he approached, Day noticed Varner had suddenly put on a mask.

“Hey, man,” Day said. “Did you catch COVID on the way up?”

“No,” Varner said. “You can’t ride in a cart without a mask.”

On the 16th green, Watson got the revenge he was waiting for when he stood by the hole as Day missed a 20-foot putt.

“Hey,” Watson said to Day, “I wished it out.”

Varner clinched the match when he made a 30-foot Eagle putt from just off the 17th green. He and Watson celebrated with a socially distanced air fist bump.

“Oh, my God it feels good to be a champion again,” Watson crowed as he walked off the green.

After the match, Rocket Mortgage Classic tournament director Jason Langwell told the players how much money was raised and presented the winners with championship belts. Watson said he would kick in $25,000 and Varner thought about why he agreed to play in the match in the first place.

“I mean, the cool thing is, Bubba was riding in his car and he was like, ‘Would you play?’ ” Varner said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ll play.’

“But as it got closer to things we were doing, I just thought it was really cool (that’s) what it’s about. I just couldn’t remember not having internet growing up. Like some kids had internet and then we got it like a year later, but like I couldn’t imagine being in high school and not having internet.”

Carlos Monarrez is a reporter for the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA Today Network. Contact him at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

Bubba Watson says he’d love to donate General Lee to museum

Bubba Watson confirmed that he still owns the General Lee and said that he’d like to donate the car to a museum.

Bubba Watson confirmed that he still owns the General Lee and said that he’d like to donate the car to a museum.

Following the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Sunday, after answering the requisite questions about his game and about playing a PGA Tour event without fans present, Watson was asked about one of the most famous cars in television history.

The one that had the Confederate flag on the roof, which has since been painted over.

“So yes, I have the General Lee, and I’ve been searching. … we’d love to give it to a museum because we believe that it’s TV history,” Watson said of a car for which he paid $112,000. “It’s nothing against race on that show. I didn’t buy the car based on race. I bought it based on my family, me and my dad, me and my mom watching that show, but obviously there’s no flags around that car. The flags have been removed from that car.”

Watson had the confederate flags removed in 2015.

He got the car at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale in 2012 and then several days later, drove it to the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, where the past-champions section of the clubhouse parking lot had a special spot for the vehicle. (Watson, however, is not a past champion of the event.)

Bubba Watson General Lee
Bubba Watson’s General Lee in the parking lot at TPC Scottsdale for the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale. Photo by Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic

The General Lee was the star of the popular TV show “The Dukes of Hazzard,” which ran from 1979 to 1985. The car is a 1969 Dodge Charger and more than 300 of the General Lee cars were used in the production of the show. Most were reportedly destroyed in chase and crash scenes, according to the auction house, Profiles in History.

The General Lee that Watson owns is dubbed Lee 1. It’s the car that jumps a police cruiser in the opening credits. The auction house reports that there are only three General Lees still in existence.

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PGA proves that a return to action is more than doable

What I’m Hearing: Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio spoke with a number of golfers and event coordinators following the Charles Scwab Challenge and the shared feeling is that the PGA’s plan to return is being well executed, despite the awkwardness of no fans.

What I’m Hearing: Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio spoke with a number of golfers and event coordinators following the Charles Scwab Challenge and the shared feeling is that the PGA’s plan to return is being well executed, despite the awkwardness of no fans.

‘No question about it’: PGA Tour makes a safe, triumphant return

A week unlike any other in PGA Tour history came to an end with a rush to the finish, a playoff, and just as importantly, a sigh of relief.

A week unlike any other in PGA Tour history came to an end with a rush to the finish on Sunday, a 2-man playoff, Daniel Berger wearing the winner’s plaid jacket, and just as importantly, a big sigh of relief.

After a 13-week break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the PGA Tour resumed action with the Charles Schwab Challenge at revered Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Its reward after more than 90 intense days of discussion that produced safety protocols and a detailed plan to produce a “bubble” of protection aimed to reduce the risk of the coronavirus was a stacked leaderboard and a Sunday stampede unfortunately played out in front of no spectators.

But players made the noise, and eight held at least a share of the lead during the final round before Berger and Collin Morikawa survived the heated battle on a sunlit day and headed to extra holes. Only one hole was needed as Berger parred the first hole and won the championship hardware when Morikawa missed a three-footer to force a second playoff hole.

Everyone who showed up in Texas, however, should take a victory lap.

Photo gallery | Leaderboard | Money list

Not a single player or caddie tested positive for the coronavirus. All quickly adapted to having their temperature taken daily and answering a questionnaire every day. All were conscious of adhering to social distancing protocols at Colonial and limiting their off-course activity.

Playing without spectators on the grounds, however, was an eerie feeling some said, surreal at times, others added. At times it was too quiet. But playing competitively, in front of a large viewing audience, was welcomed.

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“It’s great that the bubble stayed a bubble, and now we’ve got to travel with it,” said Jordan Spieth, who tied for 10th.

Yes, the Tour heads to South Carolina for next week’s RBC Heritage. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said the Tour will build on the experience in Texas and make adjustments if need be. As he said, a sustained return is the goal.

“But this is a phenomenal start to our return. There’s no question about it,” Monahan said. “A lot of people that deserve a lot of credit for that, our players certainly at the top of that list for all of their involvement in the weeks leading into this, and the way that they’ve come back and adapted to these new protocols.

“To not have had any issues, and for players to adapt to that system so well, and for us as a collective to be focused on what’s actually happening inside the field of play, watching competition, I think it’s gone about as well as we could have hoped for. I’m proud of our team for that.”

Heavyweights were in contention

The tournament lured the top 5 players in the world – and they will all show up next week at the RBC Heritage – and a major championship feel took hold early in the week. And it never left, as major winners Justin Rose, Gary Woodland, Justin Thomas, Spieth, Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed and World No. 1 Rory McIlroy were in contention.

“Obviously the quality of golf has been incredible. The pedigree on the leaderboard has been unbelievable,” said Rose, who won at Colonial in 2018 and finished in a tie for third on Sunday. “I think we’re all dealing with the atmosphere, but I’ve loved the competition. Down the stretch I was still feeling the butterflies and I was still very aware of what it means to win on the PGA Tour and all the FedExCup points and World Ranking points.

“Was definitely grateful to be out here playing, and hopefully putting on a good show for everybody at home and people are enjoying watching golf again.”

About the fans

But the players can’t wait until fans are back on the grounds. The first tournament that may see spectators is The Memorial in mid-July.

“I’ll call myself an athlete, we know we’re playing for fans on TV, but man, it’s just the roars, the electricity,” we miss, said Watson, who tied for seventh. “Even if you’re playing terrible, to hear other roars, it gets you excited, so that’s what we miss.

“It makes it weird, because even when I made a couple putts, you just don’t even wave, you don’t even high-five. It’s just a weird feeling, which we all love trying to challenge ourselves under pressure in front of the fans, and not having that makes it a little weird. But it was a great week, I believe, especially the first week back.”

Added Jim Furyk, who tied for 49th.

“Overall, I think for the first week, I think we did a pretty good job,” he said. “I think the Tour went through a lot of painstaking conversations and a lot of hours spent on everyone’s safety, whether that’s us, that’s the press, that’s the volunteers, tournament staff, PGA Tour staff. I think they did a good job as far as trying to make sure we were as safe as possible.

“Hopefully we show up next week and we have the same results and zero guys test positive and move forward and have the same week at RBC Heritage.”

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Bubba Watson jokes he and Jim Nantz ‘not that close, I guess’

Bubba Watson joked that he’s never gotten the invite to Nantz’s picturesque home, where Phil Mickelson buried a shot that went viral last year.

Last June, Phil Mickelson made waves when he buried a chip shot on the hole that’s part of the amazing backyard setup of CBS announcer Jim Nantz.

Nantz’s yard in Monterey, California, features a replica of the famed No. 7 hole at Pebble Beach.

Not surprisingly, the clip went viral:

So how would one of the Tour’s other star left-handed golfers fare on the same hole? Bubba Watson has never had the chance to find out.

In fact, on an Instagram Live at PGATour.com and NASCAR.com on Thursday, Watson joked that he’s never gotten the invite to Nantz’s picturesque home.

“I guess I’m not that close friends with him then. I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” said Watson, who’s won a dozen PGA Tour events. “I had no idea he has that. That’s crazy.”

The PGA Tour star and NASCAR driver, as previously reported by Golfweek, joined the All In Challenge by donating to the digital fundraiser with the goal of raising $100 million to feed those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The topic surfaced when Hamlin asked Watson what other sport, if not golf, he could play professionally.

“I’d just be on TV running my mouth, I’m so good at running my mouth. That’s not a sport? Jim Nantz makes it a sport,” Watson said. “Jim Nantz is phenomenal, listening to Jim Nantz talk. Now, Tony Romo is impressing me too, by the way.”

Bubba also said his dream was to play basketball, although he lacks any dribbling skills.

“I can shoot, though,” he added, “I’ve got touch.”

Funny enough, when Watson turned the tables and asked the three-time Daytona 500 winner what sport he thought he might have a chance to play, Hamlin picked Watson’s vocation.

“I mean, I’d say golf. The closest thing I could become professional in is golf,” Hamlin said. “Golf would have to be the sport. Now, I’m gonna hack it up on whatever the lowest tour is, and try to make a cut, but that would be the extent of my career.”

Quick hits with Bubba Watson: Favorite club is – guess what – not driver

What’s his favorite club? What would he be doing if he wasn’t a pro golfer? What’s his favorite on-course snack? Those answers are here.

Bubba Watson is known for his unique left-handed swing, his $825,000 watch and his prodigious length, thanks in part to a pink Ping driver.

But would you be surprised to learn that his favorite golf club is not the driver?

“Favorite club in the bag? I’d have to say lob wedge,” Watson said. “I just love trying to shape a lob wedge. 63 degrees mine is.”

Since turning pro in 2006, Watson has won 12 times on the PGA Tour, with three of those coming in 2018, including the WGC-Match Play. He’s also won the Travelers three times, the Northern Trust twice and two different WGC events. His most famous wins, though, are of course his two Masters victories.

But what would he be doing if he wasn’t a pro golfer? What’s his favorite on-course snack? And did you know his superstitions include three white tees?

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For more in this series, go to Quick Hits With on golfweek.com.

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Bubba Watson, NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin join All In Challenge

PGA Tour star Bubba Watson and Denny Hamlin are joining the All In Challenge, offering up a few prizes of their own.

Bubba Watson and Denny Hamlin are in.

The PGA Tour star and NASCAR driver joined the the All In Challenge by donating to the digital fundraiser with the goal of raising $100 million to feed those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser totaled over $3.8 million.

“We all know that this coronavirus has affected millions of people all over the world, and I’m going to try to do my part to help pitch in and raise tens of millions of dollars to feed families in need,” Hamlin said in his video promoting the campaign.

Watson is offering a foursome at Michael Jordan’s private golf course, Grove XXIII, in Hobe Sound, Florida, alongside Hamlin. Along with the round at the exclusive course, Ping will give each winner a set of custom-fit clubs and Watson will offer each winner one of his rare watches. The two-time Masters winner dishes the details on the watch in his and Hamlin’s joint video announcement.

In addition to the foursome at Grove XXIII, Hamlin is offering a chance for one winner and three friends to attend the 2021 Daytona 500. The winner will have first-class travel and lodging along with a meet-and-greet and race-car ride on the Daytona track with Hamlin.

The winners also will have all-access hot passes, suite passes, four seats on top of the Fed-Ex pit box and a race-worn fire suit.

Funds from the campaign, which was started by Fanatics founder and executive chairman Michael Rubin, go toward students who rely on school for meals each week, the newly unemployed and the elderly who have little or no access to food.

Among those Watson and Hamlin challenged to take the next step are Mark Wahlberg, Justin Bieber, Ellen DeGeneres and NFL star Larry Fitzgerald.

For those who would like to contribute or participate in any of the auctions and games, visit the All In Challenge’s website.

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Tiger Woods at the Masters (2012): Posts a T-40 for worst Masters finish

Tiger Woods often got stuck between his new swing under current coach (Sean Foley) and reverting back to his old swing (under Hank Haney).

The first indication that Tiger Woods was heading in the right direction ahead of the 2012 Masters came in the 2011 Chevron World Challenge.

While the tournament he hosts in December was an unofficial PGA Tour event, it did feature 18 of the best players in the world and a win is a win no matter the status. That’s what he felt after canning his 6-foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole, a stroke that gave him a one-shot victory over Zach Johnson and a trophy for the first time in 27 worldwide starts spread out over nearly 25 months.

A PGA Tour win, by the looks of things, wasn’t too far away.

It almost came to be for Woods in the fourth start on the PGA Tour in 2012, when he closed with an eye-popping 62 in the Honda Classic but fell two short Rory McIlroy. The next week, doubts popped up about his health again as he withdrew in the final round with an Achilles strain in the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.

2012 Masters: Final leaderboard

Two weeks later, however, he vanquished those doubts with a dominating, 5-shot victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He was back, right? He thought so.

“I certainly am excited about playing and really looking forward to getting out there and playing,” Woods said before the Masters. “I feel like I’m driving the ball much better than I have. I’ve got some heat behind it, and it’s very straight.

“My iron game is improving. Everything is headed in the right direction at the right time.”

But this wasn’t the time. With rounds of 72-75-72-74, he finished at 5-over 293, failed to break par in any round for just the second time as a professional in the Masters, and often got stuck between executing his new swing under his current coach (Sean Foley) and reverting back to his old swing (under Hank Haney).

His tie for 40th is the worst Masters finish as a pro.

After finishing no worse than a tie for sixth in his last seven starts at Augusta National, he was never in contention. He finished his first round with bogeys on the final two holes. He made five more bogeys in the second round and was loudly criticized for kicking his club on the 16th tee after another dreadful shot.

“Certainly, I’m frustrated at times and I apologize if I offended anybody by that,” Wood said. “But I’ve hit some bad shots and it’s certainly frustrating at times not hitting the ball where you need to hit it.”

After posting a 72 in the third round, he started his final round three hours ahead of the leaders and 12 strokes out of the lead. After a 74, he talked of his poor ball-striking and his inability to devour the par-5s like he usually does. He made 13 pars, two birdies and one bogey on the par-5s.

“I didn’t hit the ball very good this week, and what’s frustrating is I know what to do, and I just don’t do it,” Woods said. “I get out there and I just don’t trust it at all. I fall back into the same old patterns again, and I just need to do more reps.

“Thank God my short game was good this week and my putting was really good. Unfortunately, they were all for pars, not for birdies. And this is a golf course you just have to dominate the par 5s, and I did not do that at all this week.”

Bubba Watson walks to the 18th green on the first hole of a playoff vs. Louis Oosthuizen during the 2012 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Photo by Jack Gruber/USA TODAY Sports

While the red shirt on Sunday meant little to the outcome, the all-white ensemble of Bubba Watson – accented by the pink shaft of his powerful driver – ended up in the green jacket.

Starting the final round three shots out of the lead, Watson made four consecutive birdies starting at the 13th, signed for a 68 and moved to a playoff with Louis Oosthuizen, who finished with a 69. After both players parred the first extra hole, Watson came up with a signature moment on the second playoff hole and one of the most memorable shots in Masters history.

At the par-4 10th, he hooked his drive deep into the trees on the right. After Oosthuizen came up short with his approach, Watson carved a wedge nearly 90 degrees out of the woods, the ball coming to rest 10 feet from the hole. After Oosthuizen failed to get up and down for par, Watson tapped in for his par and won the first of his two green jackets.

This is the 18th story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters. Catch up on the series here.

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Every Masters winners’ equipment since 2010

From Adam Scott and Tiger Woods to Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, see the gear used by every Masters winner since 2010.

The Augusta National Golf Club announced on Monday that the 2020 Masters is now scheduled to start on November 9. However, golf fans around the world are sharing their thoughts and appreciation for the Masters this week on social media because the tournament was originally slated to be contested this week.

To help you get in the Masters spirit, check out this list of every golf club used by every Masters winner since 2010.

Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson with his Odyssey White Hot XG Blade putter at the 2010 Masters. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)

2010 – Phil Mickelson

DRIVER: Callaway FT-9 Tour Authentic (7.5 degrees), with Mitsubishi Fubuki 73 X shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (15 degrees), a Mitsubishi Fubuki 73 X shaft

HYBRID: Callaway Prototype (22 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana Thump X shaft

IRONS: Callaway X-Forged (4), X Proto (5-PW), with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts

WEDGES: Callaway JAWS (53, 60, 62 degrees), with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts

PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot XG Blade

BALL: Callaway Tour ix

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