This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
While Bubba Watson didn't intentionally place himself in a dire predicament, as Harry Houdini often did, his escape act at the WGC-HCBS Champions on Sunday in Shanghai was every bit as miraculous as those of the famed illusionist.
With a two-stroke lead after 15 holes, Watson went bogey, double bogey to plummet to sixth place in the tight field. But then he stunningly eagled 18 before birdieing the first playoff hole to nip Tim Clark, along the way delivering a strong early candidate for the shot of the year.
This was the first elite event of the season, and with six golfers bunched within a shot of the lead after Watson's follies, it was akin to six horses being neck and neck heading to finish line at the Kentucky Derby.
Watson, Clark, Graeme McDowell, Rickie Fowler, Martin Kaymer and Hiroshi Iwata all had a chance to win after the enigmatic Bubba bogeyed the short par-4 16th and doubled the par-3 17th. Suddenly, five of them - not Watson - were tied for the lead.
But then it was Bubba being Bubba, when very bad was followed by unbelievably good. On the par-5 18th, Watson's second shot found a greenside bunker, about 60 yards from the hole. In all likelihood needing to sink it to reach a playoff - Clark was five feet away for birdie - Watson did just that, sending the fans at the Sheshan International Golf Club into a frenzy.
It's a long way before shot of the
While Bubba Watson didn't intentionally place himself in a dire predicament, as Harry Houdini often did, his escape act at the WGC-HCBS Champions on Sunday in Shanghai was every bit as miraculous as those of the famed illusionist.
With a two-stroke lead after 15 holes, Watson went bogey, double bogey to plummet to sixth place in the tight field. But then he stunningly eagled 18 before birdieing the first playoff hole to nip Tim Clark, along the way delivering a strong early candidate for the shot of the year.
This was the first elite event of the season, and with six golfers bunched within a shot of the lead after Watson's follies, it was akin to six horses being neck and neck heading to finish line at the Kentucky Derby.
Watson, Clark, Graeme McDowell, Rickie Fowler, Martin Kaymer and Hiroshi Iwata all had a chance to win after the enigmatic Bubba bogeyed the short par-4 16th and doubled the par-3 17th. Suddenly, five of them - not Watson - were tied for the lead.
But then it was Bubba being Bubba, when very bad was followed by unbelievably good. On the par-5 18th, Watson's second shot found a greenside bunker, about 60 yards from the hole. In all likelihood needing to sink it to reach a playoff - Clark was five feet away for birdie - Watson did just that, sending the fans at the Sheshan International Golf Club into a frenzy.
It's a long way before shot of the year can be determined, but it's safe to say the Watson eagle - the only one at 18 all week - is the leader in the clubhouse.
Clark, showing no signs of being unnerved by Watson's heroics, then sank his putt. But in the playoff, his 25-footer on 18 missed before Watson, who again found the very same bunker, sank a 20-footer for the win.
Just days after his 36th birthday, Watson reached a career-best No. 3 in the world, now the highest-ranked American behind Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott, and became the 14th golfer to win both a major and a WGC.
Bogey, double bogey, eagle, birdie. It doesn't get any more Bubba than that.
MONDAY TAKEAWAY
Tim Clark
First things first: Tim Clark with a mustache looks like Tim Clark wearing a disguise. But kidding aside, Clark is amid a remarkable run: With his runner-up showing, the diminutive South African has finished second in a tournament for the 11th straight year. In an era when the game keeps getting longer and longer, that's astounding. He also has two wins, including the Canadian Open just four months ago. Clark may be done in when his trusty long putter is taken away from him, but that won't happen for another year.
Rickie Fowler
Fowler had a great season in 2013-14, the only golfer to finish top 5 in all four majors. But he's still sitting on one win, the 2012 Wells Fargo. Going for the biggest win of his career on Sunday - and, granted, according to the last sentence, that's not a tall task - but trying to win a WGC event and heading to the 72nd hole with a share of the lead, and to find the water … that's just a huge FAIL. He's still a top-notch fantasy option, but it's long overdue for Fowler to add another W to his name.
Graeme McDowell
It had to be terribly disappointing to the bulldog McDowell, leading for the first three rounds but not being able to hang on. If you are or have been a McDowell owner, you probably think he should have won more by now (two PGA Tour wins, including the 2010 U.S. Open). And you're right. McDowell has 10 Euro wins, and he delivered the dagger in the 2010 Ryder Cup, but that doesn't do us any good. Seems to me, his value, while high, is still being inflated by that win at Pebble Beach four-plus years ago.
Adam Scott
Scott began his season with a respectable T12, a half-dozen strokes behind Watson and Clark. And you can find all six of them in a two-hole stretch in the second round, when he shot a quad-9 on No. 8 followed by a double-bogey 6 on No. 9. Scott began auditioning caddies to replace the retired Steve Williams, with David Clark (Cameron Tringale, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh) on the bag in China and again this coming week in Melbourne. Scott received more than 100 "resumes" to replace Williams, and it's yet to be seen how Scott fares without one of the all-time best by his side.
Jimmy Walker
Walker finished tied for 35th in the elite China field. He's traditionally a fast starter - and slow finisher - and had a T4 three weeks ago at the Shriners. By this time last year, Walker was out front in the point standings and well on his way to a career year. The feeling is he won't come close to repeating, so let someone else overpay for him.
Billy Horschel
An opening-round 80 was his undoing in winding up tied for 73rd -- second-to-last among the golfers to play all four rounds. Horschel is clearly in a post-$10 million funk. Or maybe back in September he was just in a pre-$10 million groove. (Remember, he had a pretty bad season going until getting hot at just the right time.) Again, let someone else in your league hope Horschel will turn it around.
Nick Taylor
"Nick Taylor" sounds like the name of the lead singer in a boy band rather than someone who just won his first PGA Tour title, the opposite-field Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi. It was just the 13th PGA start for the rookie, and he becomes the first native Canadian to win on Tour since Mike Weir. This was his first top 25, so it's hard to glean whether this is the start of something big for Taylor, or a Derek Ernst-like aberration.
Peter Uihlein
Uihlein finished tied for fourth at the Sanderson. He's an interesting case. He's an American member of the European Tour, with no status on the PGA Tour. He's trying to get at least conditional status, as he attempted to last year but did not succeed. So for now, even though he could get some starts and maybe even more high finishes, he's a no-go in just about any format.
John Rollins
Third-round Sanderson leader and all-around good guy Rollins tumbled to a 1-over 73 on Sunday, while Taylor shot 6-under. So there were birdies to be had; Rollins just didn't make them. He tied for fourth. With just about every golfer who has sucked while on my team, I hold a fantasy personal vendetta and never want them on my team again. For some reason, I don't feel that way about Rollins. Always liked him. (That doesn't mean you should draft him.)
Kevin Kisner
Kisner was off to a good start to 2014-15, with a career-best T4 in the McGladrey and 23rd in the point standings - and that includes a WD from the Sanderson. He didn't say why he pulled out on Friday after 27 holes, but he's also withdrawn from this week's OHL Classic at Mayakoba. So keep an eye on him, and whether this - whatever this is -- affects him in the new year.
