Three rounds in the 60s. A three on the final hole to seal his spot at the top of the leaderboard. A three shot margin of victory. His third win of the season. And let’s not forget, his third Travelers Championship title.
Strange coincidence or not, it’s safe to say that three was certainly the magic number for Bubba Watson (Pro V1x) this week at TPC River Highlands.
Watson, who started the day six shots back, surged to the front of the field on Sunday by firing a final round 7-under-par 63 en route to a 17-under-par 263 victory total at the Travelers Championship.
The shot of the tournament had to be Watson’s flip wedge on the 72nd hole. Tied for the lead at the time, Watson deftly nipped the shot to the elevated green, leaving himself a tap-in birdie putt to get to 17-under-par.
Watson added, “Teddy (Watson’s caddie, Ted Scott) was telling me ‘that’s one of the best shots you’ve ever hit.’ People don’t know how difficult that really is downwind, trying to get it to stop and check.”
Watson set up the shot on No. 18 when he drove his Pro V1x nearly 350 yards into the heart of the fairway.
This spectacular performance propelled Watson to an early clubhouse lead and he ultimately finished three shots clear of four players, including Paul Casey (Pro V1) and Stewart Cink (Pro V1).
This marks the third time Watson has won the Travelers Championship, the same site where picked up his first-ever PGA TOUR title in 2010, when he also rallied from a six-shot deficit. Watson won it for a second time in 2015 and he now becomes only the second three-time winner in the tournament’s 66-year history.
Watson’s win makes him the first player on the PGA TOUR to win three tournaments during the 2017-2018 season. His previous wins came in February at the Genesis Open (for the third time) and in March at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
Watson now has 12 career PGA TOUR victories, including two Masters Tournament titles and two wins in World Golf Championship events, all with a Titleist golf ball.
FAST FACTS:
Since putting a Titleist Pro V1x back in play at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in November 2017, Watson has:
• Won three times on the PGA TOUR.
• Moved up 55 spots in the World Golf Rankings from 68 to 13.
• Moved into 5th place for Ryder Cup qualifying.
• Moved back into the Top 10 for Driving Distance (7th), Strokes Gained Off the Tee (4th), and Greens in Regulation (9th)
#TeamTitleist