On Sunday, with the world's most prestigious green jacket on the line, two of the greatest shots ever hit at Augusta National told the story of the 2012 Masters Tournament. There was no Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy among the leaders, and after four holes on Sunday even Phil Mickelson was on the outside looking in. But on a weekend that was supposed to feature the aforementioned players, the day belonged to Louis Oosthuizen, a smiley, 29?year?old, gap?toothed South African, and Bubba Watson, a General Lee driving, boy?band singing lefty who uses a pink driver. And boy, did they produce the spectacular.
Oosthuizen made his move first. With his approach shot on the 575?yard par five second hole, Oosthuizen hit a four iron from 253 yards out that landed on the front of the green and rolled almost 80 yards into the cup for the first double?eagle on the hole in Masters history. The albatross put Oosthuizen at eight?under, and after a bogey from Peter Hanson at the third hole, and a triple?bogey at four from Mickelson, Oosthuizen was two shots clear of the 54?hole leaders.
Golfers struggled with the front nine on Sunday, with none of the top?six finishers shooting better than two?under, but the back nine played the easiest it had all week. Bo Van Pelt shot a 64, including six?under on the back nine. Matt Kuchar went three?under on the back nine and was one stroke back with three holes left. But as the field made its move to catch Oosthuizen, no one came on stronger than playing partnerBubba Watson.
Before Watson's victory this past weekend, his previous best Masters finish was a 20th?place result in 2008. A perennial fan favorite, Watson's golf career has been inconsistent at best. Known for his length off the tees, Watson ranked second this past season in driving distance, averaging 314.9 yards, yet struggled with his accuracy, ranking 152nd in driving accuracy at 56.9 percent. He was also poor on the greens, ranking 120th in putting. Given these inconsistencies, coupled with the fact that Watson has publicly stated that he has never taken a golf lesson or watched his swing on video, it was beginning to look like one of the most naturally talented golfers on tour would never put it together to win a major. But all of that changed Sunday on the back nine.
After bogeying the 12th hole, Watson rattled off four straight birdies to pull himself even with Oosthuizen at 10?under and earn a share of the lead. In the sudden death playoff, in which the players alternate playing the 18th and 10th holes, Watson and Oosthuizen both parred the 18th. Then, on the 10th tee, both players ran into trouble, with Oosthuizen's finding the rough and Watson hooking his shot into the woods.
Watson found his ball 135 yards away from the hole, sitting atop dirt, lying beneath tree branches and providing a seemingly impossible angle to the cup. Watson responded by snap?hooking a 52?degree gap wedge that hooked 40 yards in the air and settled 15 feet from the cup, one of the most remarkable and clutch shots ever witnessed at Augusta.
"If I have a swing, I have a shot," Watson said afterward.
Watson proceeded to two?putt for the green jacket, the first major title of his career.
Witnessing Watson's emotional post?victory display and his candid press conference, it was easy to remember why he is one of the more popular players on tour. He's all about family - he and his wife recently adopted a newborn son, and Watson clearly could not wait to leave Augusta to go see him.
He also wears all white and uses a pink driver as part of an effort to raise money for a variety of charities he oversees.
"Golf isn't everything for me," Watson said, just moments after notching the biggest win of his life.
And after winning his first career major, it looks like it doesn't need to be everything for him to find success on the sport's biggest stage.
