Bubba Watson's 2012 Masters Win Caps Best Masters Ever

Bubba Watson's play in the 2012 Masters was simply magical.

There's a little bias from me being that Watson is a graduate of the University of Georgia, which is the school I root for. But, more than that, Watson gave golf fans four days of what they needed.

The Masters and golf didn't need Phil Mickelson to win another green jacket, nor did it need Tiger Woods to come out and do the same.

What both needed was for someone new to take the title.

This year's tournament needed to follow up last year's Rory McIlroy debacle with a storyline that all would follow throughout the weekend.

Saturday saw some movement as Peter Hanson and Mickelson made a charge to the front, shooting seven-under and six-under, respectively.

Then came Sunday.

It all started with one of the greatest shots you'll ever see, as Louis Oosthuizen hit a double-eagle on the par-5 second hole. That shot alone moved him into the lead at 10-under par.

From there, Oosthuizen and Watson battled the rest of the day, as Mickelson and Hanson dropped out of contention late.

Oosthuizen held the lead throughout the rest of the round, as two bogeys dropped him down to eight-under by the 10th hole, before hitting birdies at the 13th and 15th holes to get back to 10-under.

Then, there's Watson, who started the day off with a bogey to drop him to five-under. Then, birdies at the second and fifth holes brought him to seven-under.

After a bogey at the 12th hole, Watson hit four-straight birdies to get to 10-under and set up for an interesting final part of the tournament.

Both players missed chances to win the tournament on putts at 18 and then went to sudden death, where the unexpected happened.

A par for both on the 18th hole in sudden death sent both players to the 10th hole.

Watson went first and hit it to the right. All Oosthuizen had to do was to hit it on the green, and he would be in good position to win the tournament.

Instead, his shot went to the right as well and was in much worse position than Watson's shot was.

After a shot by Oosthuizen, Watson stepped in front of his ball that was in the woods, firmly entrenched in pine straw.

What happened next was one of the best shots golf has ever seen, as Watson got the ball to within 10 feet of the hole.

After Oosthuizen took three shots to get the ball in the hole, all Watson had to do was two-putt to win the green jacket.

After missing the 10-foot putt by inches, Watson tapped in for par to win.

A hug from his caddie, his mom and close friends brought everything into perspective.

What Watson did on Sunday was great for the game of golf.

His battle with Oosthuizen goes down as one of the greatest last-day battles in Masters history.

And, that's what the Masters and golf needed.

Golf has a new hero.

His name is Bubba Watson.