Bubba Survives Scare To Win Travelers Championship
- Dan Hauser
- 29 Jun, 2015
The Travelers Championship has been a rollercoaster event for Bubba Watson. It was the site of his first PGA Tour victory in 2010. In 2013, it was the site of a somewhat ugly back and forth with his caddie Ted Scott over what Bubba felt was some bad yardage and club selection from Ted. It was caught on TV by the CBS microphones and caused a storm on the internet and in the blog world.
This time around, Bubba survived a Sunday charge by Paul Casey to win his second Travelers Championship trophy, outlasting Casey on the second playoff hole.
“I proved to myself in ’10 that I could win under pressure in the playoff; I proved to myself that I could mess up 17 and still have a chance to win, and so I knew that if I just kept my head down and kept doing what I needed to do, I could still have a chance to win, and that’s what I did,” Watson said.
After trading pars on the first playoff hole, Bubba found the fairway and then the green on the second playoff hole to set up a 12 foot birdie putt. Casey meanwhile, found the bunker on his first two shots and then hit a flyer over the green on his third, all but guaranteeing the win for Bubba,
“There are always ifs and buts and could haves,” Casey said. “But the goal was to give myself a chance to win, and I did that.”
Casey certainly gave himself a shot to win with a back nine storm on Sunday. The Englishman found himself down three with just five holes to play. He played the final five holes in 2-under par while Bubba struggled to pull away. A birdie for Casey at 17 and a bogey for Bubba found them both tied at 16-under and headed to a playoff.
The win for Bubba was his eighth of his career and his second of the 2014-2015 season, having won the WGC-HSBC Champions in China also in a playoff. He also moves his playoff record to an impressive 5-1.
“It’s just about staying calm,” he said. “That’s what you have to do, you just breathe and walk slower, take some deep breaths and focus on the fact that no matter what you still come in second place.”
While Bubba came away with the trophy, there were several other golfers who found themselves leaving Connecticut having won as well.
Based on their finish at the Traveler’s Championship, Brian Harman, Graham DeLeat, Carl Pettersson, and Luke Donald all earned spots in the upcoming Open Championship at St Andrews.
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About Dan Hauser
As an avid golfer and sports enthusiast, Dan has had a passion for sports starting at a very young age. Dan’s other passion has always been writing. Since the time he could write, he has always enjoyed sharing information with people and telling stories through writing. In middle school he combined his two loves by joining the school newspaper in the sports department.
