Bubba Watson cruises to WGC Dell Match Play victory
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Bubba Watson picked up his second win in just six events with a convincing 7&6 victory over Kevin Kisner in the final of the WGC Dell Match Play
Bubba Watson ended a two year wait for his 10th PGA Tour title at the Genesis Open in February, but he only had to wait five weeks for his 11th Tour victory – and his second WGC title.
Having battled through on the first extra holes against Alex Noren, Kisner struggled in the final – getting off to a nightmare start and finding himself five down after just five holes.
Kisner failed to win a single hole until the 11th, where after finding himself seven-down after 10 thanks to a run of wayward tee shots and dropped shots, he holed a lengthy putt in an attempt to find any momentum in a match that Watson was in complete control of. However, it was short-lived relief, with Watson birdieing the next to complete victory.
In adding this win to his 2014 WGC-HSBC Champions title, Watson becomes just the fifth player after Rory McIlroy, Ernie Els, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to win multiple Major Championships and WGCs.
“This is unbelievable. A dream come true,” Watson said. “Obviously ending on the 12th hole makes it a lot easier than try to battle and go extra holes like he did this morning.”
“At the beginning of the week you don’t know what’s going to happen, because golf is very difficult. So for me to stay focused, stay committed to my shots, there’s probably about four shots for the whole week that I wasn’t committed to. That’s pretty good for me.”
Watson, who had until recently struggled with his game, now has his sights set of Augusta in a just over a week’s time, where he is a two-time champion (2012 and 2014).
“I know that we’re supposed to make a big deal out of Augusta and everything, but it’s a golf tournament. Everybody here, the top 64, well, top 71 or whatever they were in the world. So all those guys have a chance to win any week.”
“I’m confident, obviously, having two wins. So if I miss the cut, I still have two wins to fall back on so far. But, yeah, when I get there, I’m going to look forward to it and hopefully I can get this focus and my putter rolling like it is.”
Alex Noren, who had some of the biggest margin of victories of the week – taking out Patrick Reed 5&3 in the round of 16 and Cameron Smith 4&2 in the quarter final, finished third with a 5 and 3 win over Justin Thomas, whose loss to Watson in the last four prevented him from moving to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking.
The Swede now moves to fifth in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex, behind leader Shubhanker Sharma, who held on to the Number One spot despite exiting the WGC – Dell Match Play at the group stage.
Meanwhile, Ian Poulter’s 8&6 defeat at the hands of Kevin Kisner denied him entry in to the the year’s first major, finishing up the tournament ranked as the current World No.51 (he needs to be in the top 50 to be in the Masters field). There is one more tournament he could play in this week, which he said he will make his decision about on Tuesday.
WITB: Bubba Watson
Driver: Ping G400 LST (8.5 degrees, at 7.6 degrees)
Fairway Wood: Ping G (14.5 degrees, at 13.2 degrees)
Irons: Ping iBlade (2 iron), Ping S55 (4-PW)
Wedges: Ping Glide 2.0 (52-12 SS, 56-12 SS, 60-06 TS)
Putter: Ping PLD Anser (Blast Finish)
Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
