Masters Winner 2012: Bubba Watson's Win Weaves Wonderful Story for Golf

The PGA Tour couldn't have asked for a more picturesque ending to the 2012 Masters than the one that Bubba Watson gave to the world of golf.

Dressed from head to toe in his Sunday whites, Watson, who played collegiately at the University of Georgia, captured the first Major championship of his career on the fabled course at Augusta National, not far from where he once swung his clubs with the Bulldogs.

The man known best for his impressive ability to stroke powerful shots was at his best on Sunday, when he shot a four-under 68, with four consecutive birdies between the 13th and the 16th holes, to catch Louis Oosthuizen from behind and force what turned out to be a two-hole playoff.

Even then, Watson needed a miraculous shot to keep the sweet-swinging South African from having close friend and compatriot Charl Schwartzel adorn him in the coveted Green Jacket. Watson struck his tee shot on the 10th hole off to the right of the fairway, where it landed among the trees and without so much as a peek of the green.

Miraculously enough, Watson's greatest idiosyncrasy—his struggle hit his shots straight—became his more effective ally, as he hooked a shot from 155 yards out to within less than a foot of the hole.

Oosthuizen, meanwhile, could do little but watch as Watson went on to save par and claim victory after 74 hard-fought holes.

And then came the hugs and the tears, the revelry borne out of years of struggle and the joy of sharing the achievement with his newly adopted child.

It was a display of raw emotion of the sort that is so rarely seen in golf, yet is so indicative of the anomaly that Watson is. In a sport dominated by well-groomed men whose public images are as carefully crafted and defined as their swings, Bubba stood (and stands) out from the crowd—his shaggy hair, his bright pink driver, his self-taught swing, his lack of tutelage and oversight.

Bubba was, is and has always been somewhat brash, though not so much an outsider as another character on tour.

Now, he has a green jacket in his closet to validate not only his style of play, but also his place within the game itself.

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