5 Things Bubba Watson Must Do to Have a Successful 2014-15 PGA Tour Season
Bubba Watson is a lot of things.
He's quirky, he's long off the tee.
He can work the ball better than anybody on the PGA Tour right now.
He's a two-time Masters champion with five other PGA Tour wins.
And having said all that, he could be much, much better.
Here are five things Watson will have to do to have a successful 2014-15 season.
Improve His Putting
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Bubba Watson is not a very good putter. And the fact that he's not great in the greens-in-regulation category doesn't help him either.
His best statistic in that category is putting from inside five feet. He makes 96.62 percent of those, ranking 62nd on the PGA Tour. And that's his best.
His strokes-gained-putting statistics are even worse. And they tell the story as to why he struggles on the greens.
- -.053, 110th in 2014
- -.093, 118th in 2103
- -.284, 157th in 2012
- -118, 126th in 2011
- -.077, 117th in 2010
Lose the Attitude
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Bubba Watson is a two-time major champion with two green jackets in his closet to prove it.
But there are times when he says and does things that make it hard to believe he has even played in one of golf's biggest tournaments, let alone won two.
At the PGA Championship in August, Watson, No. 1 in distance off the tee on the PGA Tour, decided he didn't like the idea of a long-drive competition being held during practice rounds. So when he got to the 10th tee, the hole selected for the long drive, Watson hit 3-iron.
Once the competition began, the weather turned nasty and so did Watson. He unleashed a profanity-laden tirade about having water on his clubface and how he couldn't deal with it.
“I can’t play golf, man,” Watson was quoted in a Golf.com story. “I got nothing. Water on the clubface. Water on the clubface, bro. I’ve got no chance."
Contrary to that, he has no choice but to grow up and wise up.
Find a Few More Fairways
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In a dozen seasons on the PGA Tour, Bubba Watson has never cracked the top 100 in driving accuracy.
Despite that, Watson has won seven times and has earned over $25 million.
But let your mind wander for a second and think about how successful Watson could be if he was able to get more of those 317-yard drives into the fairway?
There's no doubt he is a very talented player, possessing the kind of creativity most players can only dream of.
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Get a PR Makeover for on-Course Demeanor
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Like every other golfer on the PGA Tour, Bubba Watson is universally loved and adored by golf fans.
Some like him, some don't. And that line is rarely blurred.
Watson needs a public relations makeover, one that makes him more acceptable to mainstream fans. The Golf Boys and Bubba Claus play well to a certain segment of the fan population, including youngsters.
He'd become a major fan favorite if he won more and if he were more schooled by someone as to things to say and when to say them.
Focus on a Major Other Than the Masters
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Bubba Watson has a pair of green jackets, and those can never be taken away from him.
But while he is a two-time major champion, he's going to need prove he can win at other major venues before he's going to be viewed as an absolute, elite major champion.
He needs to stop talking himself out of a tournament before it even starts as he did at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in June.
Since 2010, his only other top-10 finish in a major in the last four years was the 2010 PGA Championship.
Watson needs to focus and re-focus on the other three big golf tournaments each year.
The guy who's No. 1 in driving distance should hit driver off every tee. He hits it too far to be doing anything except playing his game the way he does best.
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