Bubba Watson has been playing well of late. How come? He insists it's a new caddie and a new putter.
Bubba Watson has been playing well of late. How come?
He insists it's a new caddie and a new putter.
The two-time Masters champ is in the thick of things after two rounds at LIV Golf UK, shooting a solid 3-under 68 at JCB Golf and Country Club in Rocester to sit at 8 under, and in second place heading into Sunday's final round.
Yes, Watson is a half-dozen strokes behind leader Joaquin Niemann, but he's looking to post his third top-7 finish in six starts, following a T-7 in Mexico City and a T-4 in Virginia.
Watson said he's entering the final round with a positive mindset, and hoping that Niemann comes back to the pack.
"I'm going to play it the same way. I've played well the last couple days. It's up to him. It's his golf tournament to win as of right now. If he goes out and plays half of what he's doing today, he wins it. We've got to shoot 10-under or something like that," Watson said. "You're just going to come out and try to have the best finish you can, and if he doesn't start off hot maybe you put pressure on him and you can challenge."
As for the putter, which has been serving Watson well in the past few months, how did he come to the change?
"I talked to Peter Uihlein, who's on my team. He's well-known for being a great putter. Probably top 5, top 10 in the world in putting. I'd say top 5. So I asked him what he did, and he told me he works on his stroke, works on trying to get the stroke the same every time. He told me a couple things to do, a couple training aids, a couple different things to use," Watson said. "Then I went back to the Ping engineers and asked them what kind of putter do I need. I need something that can hit it harder but also keep the ball on line if you mis-hit it. So we went to a mallet. I got a mallet, a Tyne putter, and it's working so far. I'm getting them to the hole.
"In my career I usually leave them a little short so they're usually just missing because I like to die the putts, and now it's getting a little bit harder. Without changing my stroke, it's getting a little bit harder, so more are going in. It's exciting, and I've been calm, working on the mental side of it, and I've been calm out there on the golf course, and it's paying off."
While Watson is looking to add some key points to help push him from his spot at 31st in the LIV Golf standings, he knows numerous players are out there clawing and scracthing as the season winds down, hoping to get a contract for next season.
"There's a lot more stress, 100 percent. There's a lot more stress. Not knowing the number ... I do know the number, but not knowing the number, how many guys are without a contract next year, so there's people that are stressed. They're trying to get top 24. They're trying to stay in the top 48. There's a lot of movement. There's a lot of having to step up and hit great golf shots because they know what's on the line to be in an elite league like this. They want a contract. They want to be able to play here next year, so there's a lot of stress out there for sure."
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Bubba Watson in second at LIV Golf UK, credits new caddie, new putter
Category: General Sports
