Bubba Watson - Why doesn't he win more often?

[USGolfers]

I think Bubba has the potential to be the best! When he powers his shot he's huge, and when he's fluid he's equally long. He reads greens well. And his short game is great. Why doesn't he win more often?

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by USGolfers

Why doesn't he win more often?

Because he's inconsistent and not great under pressure. Like most players out there.

Although he has released a whole bunch of "awesome" videos to show us what a laid back, wild and crazy guy he is, and he pretends that he brings this relaxed demeanour to the course, in fact, the complete opposite is the case.

He is much better than he used to be, but he is still a  surly, pouting bundle of nerves on a golf course.

In addition to this, the fact that he has one very very extreme shot shape means that there are only a few golf courses that could suit him.

Any course with a majority of left to right holes is going to be very hard for him.

You only really see the exciting stuff from him when he is cutting right to left doglegs.

Having said that, he has 2 PGA Tour wins, which is better than what most players have in only a few years on tour.

[xxsoultonesxx]

Watch him putt on Sunday. He wins when he can keep his nerves in check. When he beat Phil earlier this year, he looked extremely rattled on the last batch of holes. I think that a lot of golfers can really relate to Bubba. He doesn't play robot golf and he wears his emotions on his sleeve. Golf is frustrating!

I hope he wins.

[Chilli Dipper]

Bubba has all the physical ability a top-level player can ask for. What he lacks in great supply are confidence and patience, two qualities that are prerequisite to winning on the PGA Tour. Look at this week, for example. Bubba has been in control of this golf tournament from the moment he teed off on Thursday, yet all he has been able to say is how the TPC Louisiana doesn't fit his eye, and how hard it is for him to play well on this course. Clearly, he's been able to make something work for him, but everything about his demeanor and body language shows him as uncomfortable in this particular environment. That's not a good omen for this afternoon.

On the patience side, there was an interesting stat I saw on the Golf Channel the other day. Bubba Watson only ranks 134th on tour in approaches from 50-125 yards, but 12th in approaches from 125-150 yards. He is the longest driver in the field, but those drives frequently leave him with partial wedge shots, and he simply isn't as good from that distance as he is when he can make a full swing. As great as his distance off the tee is, maybe he should hold it back more often.

[MEfree]

Looking at his stats this year http://www.pgatour.com/players/r/?/02/58/04/stats, putting seems to be the main problem with an overall rank of 166th:

Putting Average

1.780

87th

Putts Per Round

30.14

179th

Total Putting

292.0

166th

Putting from Inside 5'	94.57%	171st	age - Insi - 313	de 5' - 296
Putting from 5-10'	56.47%	90th	age - 5-10 - 85	' - 48
Putting from - 10-15'	26.32%	128th	' - 76	-
Putting from - 15-20'	19.51%	73rd	' - 41	-
Putting from - 20-25'	4.00%	171st	' - 25	-
Putting from - > 25'	3.53%	149th	-	-
Putting from 5-15'	42.24%	135th	-	-
Putting from 15-25'	13.64%	124th	' - 66	-
Putting from 3-5'	77.94%	179th

The argument about him laying back farther is interesting in that he is relatively better from 125-150 than his peers, but absolute distance from the hole is about the same (best at 75-100) and his GIR is better from up close:

Approaches from 125-150 yards	19' 8"	12th	150 yards - 648.917	-
Approaches from 50-125 yards	20' 5"	134th

Approaches from 100-125 yards	23' 3"	143rd	125 yards - 581.500	-
Approaches from 75-100 yards	15' 5"	34th	00 yards - 339.250	-
Approaches from 50-75 yards	23' 0"	168th

GIR Percentage - 100-125 yards	71.79%	124th	-125 yards - 28	-
GIR Percentage - 75-100 yards	88.89%	15th	100 yards - 24	-
GIR Percentage - < 75 yards	95.65%	8th

GIR Percentage - 125-150 yards	76.92%	18th	-150 yards - 40	-
GIR Percentage - < 125 yards	88.61%	6th	5 yards - 140	-
GIR Percentage - < 100 yards	94.12%	3rd

[Patrick Gilmore]

I know its a flip response, but to quote a corny old song, you got to know when to hold em and you got to know when to fold em. Like a lot of power players when he is not on his game he has trouble dialing back and scraping it around to save a poor round. When a guy who hits it so far gets off the misses just kill you.

[deasy55]

Bubba 4 under through 4 holes today

[rolopolo]

Bubba will get better and better and Im sure we will see him win more often.

I think the reason why it has taken him some time to being in contention more often is simple because the game that he plays is much harder to master than the game of your traditional pro.

The shots that he hits and the way he approaches a hole always meant that its going to take him longer to win, but I can assure you he has much more potential to improve than most other players

Assuming bubba wins today he will jump to number 10, possible number 9 in the world rankings , and that will put him one decent win away from being a real challenger for the number 1 rank .

And I have no question that bubba wins today, webb simpson is bound to pooooopoooooo his pants.

Go on bubba son

[USGolfers]

Chili Dipper - I agree with you. Bubba needs to apply better course management from a wider perspective.

[Shorty]

If you're watching now (9th hole final round) it should be obvious how far he has to go to live up to his potential  His game lacks maturity and his course management is bad.

He might still win but he can't take advantage of his length because he can't chip.

He only seems to be able to hit the ball as hard as he can. He might hit some very creative shots, but he seems to lack the imagination to hit a variety of shots when conditions demand it.

His game is very one dimensional.  Great fun when it works, but he has just wasted 4 shots in 4 holes.

[darkhunter139]

Two bad holes in a row for Bubba.

[rolopolo]

maybe i spoke too soon. c'on bubba son

[darkhunter139]

Sudden death! I hope Bubba wins it.

[rolopolo]

brilliant golf. both bubba and webb showing lots of bottle. bubba showing his class with that shot from the bunker.

[xxsoultonesxx]

That playoff was a nail-biter! Webb hit the fairway 3 times in a row and Bubba never hit the fairway and still managed to win. His shot on the 2nd playoff hole from the bunker was ridiculous. Now he's leading the Fedex cup, too.

Nice job Bubba!

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Shorty

He might still win but he can't take advantage of his length because he can't chip.

If winning (twice now this year) isn't taking advantage of his length, then I don't know what is...

Bubba may not be the best chipper but he probably has almost as many chips for eagle than most others have for birdie. That's a big advantage.

[sean_miller]

I'm glad I watched that tournament on tape. Holy ##$%^ the leaders pissed away a lot of strokes. The course looked extremely boring and the CBS coverage was nauseating as usual. Congrats Bubba, now let's move on.

[motteler621]

Every time they showed Webb Simpson from behind I thought I was watching hunter mayhan