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CROMWELL, Connecticut – 1:20 pm Sunday's game at TPC River Highlands covered the spectrum on the PGA Tour. In a corner stood science. Bryson DeChambeau, whose quantitative approach to golf seems limitless, was looking to add another win after winning a playoff series earlier this month at Jack's Place.
On the other side was the art.
Bubba Watson does not float golf balls in Epsom salt to identify minor imperfections. It does not come out a compass to find the least errors in the identity card provided by the Tour. Even when he sends a text to Ted Scott the younger, he prefers to use the voice text rather than rely on his spelling, certainly suboptimal.
But strolling along one of his favorite landscapes, Bubba the artist has come first. Again.
Watson is in the middle of a resurgent season, one that already included a third win at one of his favorite haunts at the Riviera Country Club. It was a breakthrough in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play category, and a return to the Augusta National rankings, where a third green jacket was missing.
It is therefore in his best interest to take advantage of this nascent momentum at the Travelers Championship, where he earned his first victory in 2010 on the PGA Tour. On Sunday, he joined Billy Casper as the only three-time tournament champion with a 63 catch and pass Paul Casey.
It's a place where Watson can bombard the controls by feeling them and cutting short irons at will, and where he has officially put his footprint on the best season so far on the Tour.
"His hand-eye coordination is by far one of the best I have ever seen," said DeChambeau. "You got me who was just struggling on the tee, and he's sweeping bullets over there. It was cool to watch. I would like to be able to do that. I could probably do it, but I do not feel like I'm as coherent as him. "
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Consistency was not an appropriate descriptor a year ago, since Watson went from being two-time major champion to completely off the radar. His world ranking, which started last year in 10th place and is now back in 13th place after being the first three-time winner this season, fell to 117th place before his victory at Riviera in February.
Watson attributes much of the recovery to a change in health. Never really one to tip the scales, he lost 25 pounds in a span of three months last year while battling an undisclosed health concern. After putting back some weight, he is now able to devote more time and energy to tweaking one of the most distinctive approaches to the ride.
"At any moment, these guys feel comfortable to be themselves, and golf is secondary in a sense, it helps them reach their potential," he said. said Scott. "I think the hype and the pressure can sometimes mess things up, and now he's very comfortable with who he is as a person, and I think in his life." helps to relax on the golf course. "
What Watson does not prefer to mention, is the change in equipment that he did that serves as a not-so-subtle dividing line. The southpaw turned his head at the end of 2016 when he agreed to play a Volvik color ball on the Tour during the 2017 season, only to see his results fall off a cliff. A return to the Titleist ball that he previously used coincided with some of the best results of his 12-year career.
"I do not think he had any (role) in my success," Watson said. "My clubs did not go to the distance I had used to, I could not shape it the way I wanted it, luckily for me, I know the problem, and the problem was with health and not all these other things. "
But regardless of the true source of his turnaround, Watson is back to doing what he does best. This includes cutting the handle from the places that best fit his unique eye, whether they are lined with thick rough kikuyu outside of Los Angeles or strewn with dangers of danger. threatening water outside Hartford.
The artistic touch was in full screen with his final swing of the day. Making exactly 71 yards to a pin barely nestled at the edge of a gaping bunker on No. 18, Watson opened his face on his 63-degree corner and kicked a kick that spun and checked at Inside 3 feet.
"Teddy put his arm around me, like," It was an incredible shot, "Watson said." He's seen a lot of pictures, he's been here for many years. So, for him to realize it, and that other players send me text messages and realize it, it was special. "
While at the time it seemed like a shot that gave Watson a glimmer of hope in his pursuit of Casey, it eventually turned out to be the final climax of A three-shot victory. This is the type of shot that few or none of his peers can visualize, let alone run with exact accuracy with the tournament hanging in the balance.
That's the type of shot that separates Watson – the eccentric southpaw with the pink driver who is openly talking about his struggles with concentration on the course and abhors a lot more than trying to hit a direct shot – even of the best in the game when things shoot on all the cylinders.
"The skills have always been there, as you know, but he's just more relaxed now," Scott said. "And when these guys, obviously when they like it, they can play at their best and not over stressed."
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