Bubba Watson is a two-time Masters winner and when it comes to assessing Augusta National, he’s as well placed as anyone to pass opinion.
Watson won twice in the space of three years in a run that saw him produce some remarkable shots that were akin to Phil Mickelson at times.
Those two wins remain Watson’s only two major wins and since then, his best Masters finish was a tie for 5th back in 2018.
Now over the LIV Golf tour, Watson is rarely seen on the PGA Tour side of things.
But he will be at the Masters in 2025, and he’s been discussing just what it takes to win at Augusta National.
Bubba Watson reveals what makes Augusta National so hard
Asked about what sort of conditions suit him to win and if he thinks they have got harder in the modern era, Watson actually admitted things are just right in his eyes.
“I think the conditions are right. The weather dictates every golf tournament but around there the wind dictates most of it,” Watson said.
“The beauty of Augusta is you can’t say that wind is going to be in the morning or the afternoon, you never know. It will flip on you real fast. So the back nine is where you really have the tall trees and the wind is whipping. It’s hard. A guy tees off at 7:30 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon and the weather conditions are different, or could be really different.”
Asked to explain his winning efforts, Watson then went into detail on how he got over the line twice.
“I think I was 10 to 14 in the two years or somewhere right in those area, if not those numbers. Not a high number but not a low number. Less wind for me, so I can do my shot shapes. I think because then I know what the ball is doing and I can do it, you are not really worried about long putts on the greens because the wind is not going to speed it up or slow it down. You can remember the breaks.
“That is how I would say, I would say lighter winds make it a better chance to me. Leave the conditions how they are, I don’t want it wet and mud balls but I just want less wind.”
Bubba Watson shares why Augusta National was ‘crazy’ in 2024
Of course, Watson continues to give it a go at Augusta in search of a third green jacket.
But after missing the cut in both 2023 and 2024, Watson has admitted that the event last year brought about some pretty extraordinary scenes.
“For sure. The guys, we had to go back in the morning and in the morning it was freezing cold. The drives you are used to hitting, now you are at 270 and you can’t even see the greens. It was crazy,” Watson continued.
“I think when Zach Johnson won it was really cold, and he never reached the par fives in two. So the ball wasn’t going anywhere for anybody and I think he won it on a low, low number. It was either two over or even or one under. It was low. It was like a US Open score.
“So it was the hardest conditions that I have played in that morning, cold and windy.”
As of now, it’s impossible to predict just what the weather will throw up for the 2025 edition of the Masters.
But if the winds swirl and the rains come, then it pretty much opens the door for any player, past or present, to get the win.
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