The Masters is drawing close, and Bubba Watson is pumped up. The RangeGoats captain is among the 13 players representing the Greg Norman-fronted side at the Masters. Watson, with a new putter in hand, started his week at the top of the leaderboard. “The ball-striking has been there,” says Watson, and his legs are getting stronger, too.

For LIV Golfers, the Miami event is the last opportunity to gear up for the Masters. And Trump Doral, at 7,700 yards, provides a worthy challenge. The course demands long irons, mid-irons, and short irons, Watson’s LIV teammate and fellow Lefty, Phil Mickelson said earlier. Watson, too, had a similar approach to seeing LIV Miami through Masters’ lens. 

Bubba Watson is bursting with confidence 

The RangeGoats captain strung together five birdies to card 4-under 68 in the first round. But the three-putt particularly bothers him at the end of the day. The two-time Masters champion said, “I feel good. Just got to work on the putting a little bit. Trying on that, grinding on that, but the ball-striking has been there, and now I feel like I’m getting stronger.”

Historically, Trump Doral favors long-hitters. The Blue Monster, once a venue for the PGA Tour’s pre-Masters stop till 2016, has been kind to Bubba Watson as well. The 45-year-old had three consecutive top threes at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Miami. 

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Till last year, the Gil Hanse redesigned layout was a pit stop for LIV Golf’s season-ending Team Championship. But the PIF thought it best to move up as a fitting tune-up for the Masters. Bubba Watson has reasons to sound optimistic after the first round at Blue Monster. “My leg is getting stronger. I can hit shots that I want to hit. Today I did that. I hit some shots I wanted to hit, trying some shots, and they worked out in my favor,” the two-time Major winner said during the media interaction.

This will be his 16th Masters appearance. Augusta, keeping in line with its tradition, has once again made some tinkerings to the course. Bubba Watson isn’t happy about that and he doesn’t hide it at all.

Watson feels we got carried away

Ahead of the 88th Masters, the tee box at hole no.2, Pink Dogwood, has been moved further back. That will add a little more nuance to the easiest hole for the past few years. Golfers will need to be more mindful of the bunker on the right side. Let’s also not forget that only last year, 40 yards were added to the par 5, 13th. Bubba Watson is not a fan of frequent changes. 

In an interview with Today’s Golfer, Watson said, “I think we get carried away. They added length to 11, they added length to 13 and shifted it over. You’ve got to remember the trees are growing at this time.”

At Augusta, the winner’s scoring average in the 2000s was 9-under, per My Golf Spy. That has moved significantly up with added lengths. Last decade it was 12-under, and in the last four years, it stands at 13-under. Additionally, in the last Masters, the field average was 73.01. Comparably, when Tiger Woods won his fifth green jacket, the scoring average was 71.77. 

“We celebrate somebody scoring 50 points in the NBA, but when somebody shoots five-under at a Major we’re like, hold on a second, this is not right. I just think we go too deep into it, instead of just letting us be golfers and letting us be good at what we do. People want to see birdies win, not people parring in.” 

Fred Ridley, the Augusta chairman, has tacitly supported the USGA and R&A’s golf ball rollback policy. Bubba Watson, in his last full season at the PGA Tour, ranked 9th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, averaging 304.7 yards driving distance. The frustration isn’t surprising.

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