3rd Apr 2012 | The Masters
US Masters Tips: Bubba Watson
Finished top-25 in every event this year. Big hitter and prolific birdie machine, has started keeping bogeys off his card.
Augusta National has favoured long hitters in recent years and no one hits it further than Bubba Watson. He leads the PGA Tour in driving distance, crashing his drives an average of 317 yards. An impressive statistic but one that often leaves the likeable American typecast - he is much more than a ‘grip it and rip it’ golfer.
As you would expect for someone with prodigious length off the tee, he ranks 9th on tour for par 5 performance. A big strength considering it is the par 5s where scores are made at Augusta. However, he also ranks first for par 4 performance, equally critical, as dodging dropped shots is paramount.
Avoiding bogeys is where the real improvement has come in Bubba Watson’s game. Last year he finished T30 at Augusta, his 17 birdies and 1 eagle wiped out by 20 dropped shots. He finished the year a lowly T132 for bogey avoidance on tour.
It’s all change in 2012. Better course management has seen Bubba rise to T30 for bogey avoidance and better results have followed. His strokeplay record this season is: T18-T13-T5-T13-2-T4.
He has the ability to hit every shot in the book and even some that aren’t! Now that he is beginning to hone that talent, we should see him compete more regularly at the majors.
At 55/1 (Coral) he can follow in the footsteps of fellow ‘lefties’ Phil Mickelson and Mike Weir and don the fabled Green Jacket. Back Bubba Watson each way with ¼ odds for a top five finish.
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Back any player to win the US Masters and Coral will give your money back if he leads after round 3 but fails to win the tournament. Maximum refund £200 per customer on win bets or the win part of each-way bets.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 11:00 3rd Apr, 2012 but subject to change
