Bubba Watson

    Bubba Watson

    Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)

    Weight: 180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)

    Birthday: November 5, 1978

    College: Faulkner State C.C., University of Georgia

    Year turned pro: 2003

    Birthplace: Bagdad, Florida, USA

    Country: USA

    Sponsor: Airweave, The Greenbrier, Kentwool, Oakley, PING, Richard Mille, Titleist, Travelers.

    Born in Florida in 1978, Gerry Lester “Bubba” Watson, Jr. is one of the few left handed golfers on the PGA Tour and has had a successful career, having achieved several Major wins. He is known for being one of the best drivers in golf, and has been known to achieve speeds from the tee of up to 194 mph.

    Watson began playing golf at a young age, playing for the team at Milton High School. He went on to play at Faulkner State Community College where he was a junior All-American. Watson went on to study, and play golf, at the University of Georgia.

    After turning professional in 2003, Watson began playing on the Nationwide Tour. He continued to play on this tour until he made his debut on the PGA Tour in 2006, having qualified by finishing 21st on the 2005 Nationwide Tour money list. During his rookie season Watson earned prize money of $1,019,264 and was the longest driver of the ball on tour.
    It was four years until Watson achieved his first PGA Tour win, at the Travelers Championship in June 2010. The year was a big one for Watson away from the course with the formation of the Bubba Golf clothing line, and an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

    The following year Watson achieved his second PGA Tour win at the Farmers Insurance Open. This was followed by his third Tour win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. That same year Watson made use of his driving expertise by competing at the Long Drive Contest at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Watson finished second at this charity event.  

    In 2012 Watson achieved his first Major win at the Masters Tournament. This win raised him up the World Rankings to fourth place. After the success of the Masters the rest of 2012 did not go quite as well for Watson; he missed the cut at both the Memorial Tournament and the U.S. Open. The season did not improve a great deal, but Watson did still achieve one win, six top 5 finishes and seven top 10 finishes over the whole season.

     
    The 2013 Masters did not go anywhere near as well for Watson, as the one the previous year; he finished in 50th place. The rest of the season saw Watson finishing in joint 32nd place at the US Open, and again joint 32nd at The Open Championship.

    In 2014 Watson achieved his fifth victory on the PGA Tour, at the Northern Trust Open. Following this victory, and strong finishes at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the WGC-Cadillac Championship, Watson rose to number 12 in the World Rankings. Further success came at the Masters Tournament that year, which Watson won by three shots.

    Away from the course, Watson’s nickname Bubba was given to him by his father, after football player Bubba Smith. Watson is married to Angie Watson who he met when he was playing on the golf team, and she was on the basketball team. The couple has adopted two children, as they were unable to have any of their own.

    Watson is a member of the Golf Boys, together with Ben Crane, Rickie Fowler, and Hunter Mahan. Their single “Oh Oh Oh” has a video which was produced by Farmers Insurance Group. They donate $1000 to charity for every 100,000 views the video gets on YouTube.  Watson is also a devout Christian and often speaks about the role his faith plays in his life.