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CROMWELL, Connecticut – Bubba Watson has built a deal – a farm – as the best golfer of 2018.
The thriving southpaw came back six strokes in the Voyageurs Championship to win three strokes and win the 12th victory of his career. His victory came with a lobely impressive 71-yard corner kick that landed two feet at the hole. There is something about River Highlands – the Connecticut course that has a special and positive voodoo – that has attracted great purpose in recent years. Just last year, for example, Jordan Spieth left the bunker to win.
And now, Watson 's arrow on 18. At that moment, the little birdie putt that occurred after him gave a lead of one shot at Paul Casey, who held the lead for more than 25 holes at this point.
This is the third title of Watson's career (2010, 2015 were the others). He shot a 7 under 63 and finished 17 under for the tournament.
It 's also the third win of the year for Watson, who is in a resurgence in his own right. After failing to win a PGA tournament in 2017, he climbed to third place in the FedEx Cup thanks to that, after sitting in 15th position in the Travelers. Watson is a longtime supporter of the event, his victory in 2010 being the first of his career.
The return of Watson to six times also resulted in a nine-shot turnaround on the final day, the biggest gap in the event's history. (Brad Faxon came in seven years in 2005, the biggest deficit in the history of this tournament, but won via a playoff series.)
And what about Watson? He won 11 PGA Tour tournaments in stroke play and came back from the last day to win seven of them. Watson made his push, and knew that he had a chance once he sank a stop from top to bottom on 15.
"The punch on 15, that's when I thought I had a chance," Watson said.
He also had a big lead over 10 in nab birdie, one of five that he took on the back nine. As the weather approached, Watson aggressively chased the pins and knew the winds were going to be a factor. Before his mesmerizing Thunderbolt on 18, Watson pulled out the driver and played aggressively – even against his inner instinct.
"If we're going to lose the golf tournament, let's lose it by hitting the big dog," Watson said.
Then an unusual scene. Torrential rains caused the flooding of the main interview hall and the media tent. The presentation of the trophies was held inside, and then Watson – after almost 45 minutes of waiting – finally answered questions from the press inside the media work room.
Watson was close to the heart afterwards; he was self-aware. A polarizing player whose reputation as a tough competitor has cost him in some ways, Watson said that a change in approach over the past year has contributed to his success this year. He also said that some health issues, including significant weight fluctuation, have put him out of harm's way in 2017.
Watson even said that he called his younger brother after Saturday and apologized for his bad attitude in the first three days. Old habits can be hard to shake, but the fact that he speaks openly of his faults indicates that something is changing with him.
Now he looks like the best golfer in the world. He won in a field of 156 players with 15 other players who had won at least one major. This kind of competition in a non-major event is a rarity on the PGA Tour.
Grade: A
Here's the rest of our notes for the Voyageurs Championship, which establishes a reputation as one of golf's unmissable non-majors.
Paul Casey (T2): The nightmare ends for Casey, who plays well lately, but found himself wagering on what should have been his third PGA Tour victory. In fact, Casey lost that event against Watson in a playoff game in 2015. On Sunday, he scored 14 under and kept a four-shot lead. By the time Watson made his birdie on 18 to take a lead of one shot, Casey was finishing 15, which he parried.
He then pushed a four and a half foot out of 16, missing the par and dropping two on Watson. Casey followed by putting his starting shot in the drink on the right on 17. That was a brutal turn in the wrong direction for Casey, who waited for holes 70 and 71 of the tournament before recording consecutive bogeys. Category B-
Stewart Cink (T2): Nobody made more ground on the last day than Cink, 45, who went from a tie in 20th to a tie for second place. He finished 14 under, tied with Beau Hossler, J. B. Holmes and Paul Casey. Cink, like Watson, is a multiple winner of the Travelers event, and in the first two hours he was playing his way to a potential third title. Cink shot a 29 on the front nine, then took a pair of bogeys on the back before settling in with an impressive tournament-low 62. With golf, so much of how you are judged is the way you close. Cink was at his best – and the quietest – Sunday. Grade: A-
Jason Day (T12): A good and not big tournament for Day (11 sub), which was always delayed but never threatening. However, he can not get lost as a result of the travelers that day in fact almost spent Spieth full on the 18th in the final round. No, it was not in the sand, and no, it was not a trophy, but it echoed what Spieth did in 2017.
Day finished tied for third among Travelers (22 of them) but was held back because he bugged 11 holes. He was sixth in driving but 38 in driving precision. Day is still going well in 2018; In January, he won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and in May he won the Wells Fargo Championship title. Category B
Rory McIlroy (T12): McIlroy has found himself at 11 under par thanks to some tricky and thin holes in TPC River Highlands that have water hazards. His power is made for this course, but he has not yet threatened to win a title despite he has often played the event. His culmination at this year's tournament came when a squirrel raced on the first tee-box on Saturday, and his 43 feet chip for eagle later in the round. I can say first-hand that the people of New England love McIlroy. He commissioned galleries as large as anyone else this weekend. Category B
Brooks Koepka (T19): Koepka was playing with the deepest pockets of home money imaginable at this event. After winning his second consecutive title in the United States, the 28-year-old was found in the middle of a projector that was unlikely to shine. Koepka's return from a wrist injury earlier this year has proved his talent and potential. He is now in the top four of the world golf rankings, and at Cromwell he finished 9 under. Strong game after the open American championship; if Koepka had slumped and failed to make the cut, no one would have blamed him. Instead, a respectable demonstration of four days. Category B
Jordan Spieth (T42): The 2017 champion, who won this tournament underestimated last year in one of the most epic ways imaginable, was irregular and like a layman in his follow-up appearance to travelers. Spieth, who finished 4 under, had only 13 birdies on 72 occasions. That's a surprisingly low amount considering the fact that the rest of the squad played this year on a course that must have seemed mild after the hectic and infernal nature of Shinnecock Hills at the US Open the previous week. Spieth's frustration played out on the occasion. He is ranked 55th in approach shots and 40th around the green, and of course, it will happen to you every time. It is difficult to repeat at the same event. Grade: C
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