Genesis Open Recap: The Return of Bubba?

For all the elite young players putting the game in good hands in the semi-post-Tiger Woods era, golf just got a lot more fun and interesting with the return of Bubba Watson.

Of course, Watson never really went anywhere, except out of the top-100 in the world rankings last month for the first time in almost a decade. He began 2017 as No. 10 in the OWGR, and to fall so far and so fast while actually still playing is not easy to do.

But with his third career win at the Genesis Open on Sunday, Watson is back to No. 40 in the world. More importantly, he's back to being Bubba.

Watson had barely talked about what happened last year, but after fending off Kevin Na and Tony Finau by two strokes at Riviera, reporters kept up the pressure. Watson expounded a little, albeit cryptically.

He said he had, "some medical issues, but nothing worse than a paper cut. It's nothing. Nothing." Whatever nothing was, it caused Watson to lose at least 20 pounds, into the low-160s, he said. He offered that there was "family drama" with his son starting school and wife undergoing knee surgery. Watson also talked about the disappointment of being bypassed for the 2016 Ryder Cup team despite being ranked No. 7 at the time and he danced around some self-pity in his post-tournament news conference.

Watson also changed his golf ball to the little-known Volvik. It was supposed to be a four-year deal, but Watson announced it was over in less than one and he went back to Titleist. Again, he offered little on that, saying he and all golfers chance equipment all the time.

So Watson, 39, is back to full weight, no longer feeling sorry for himself and back to using a real golf ball. He had been taking baby steps this season, albeit with nothing better than a T35 at Pebble Beach. But that came a week ago and, along with decent stats and a return to a course at which he plays great, it all came together this week.

After sinking a final par putt for a 12-under score and momentarily breaking down in the arms of his longtime caddie, Ted Scott, Watson spoke reverently about Riviera. He said he had a blast, and it was so much fun to create shots and then added, "Same thing as Augusta."

Ah, yes, the Masters. Watson of course is a two-time champion there and, with the first major of the season now just eight weeks away, he all of a sudden re-enters the conversation. There are young guys who hit the ball a ton and some who have great touch with their short game and putter. But Watson is on the short list of golfers who have, as they say, "imagination." Woods and Phil Mickelson also have imagination. Likewise, Woods and Mickelson also have done well at Augusta through the years.

Watson may not do much until then. First, there isn't that much time, though he just qualified for the WGC Mexico and indicated he'd be there. But he has his Bubba courses and his non-Bubba courses. Of his 10 career wins, seven have come at three tracks: Augusta, Riviera and Hartford.

Regardless, it's good for golf to have him back. He's a lot of fun to watch and he's accidentally more candid than the more polished guys. He even good naturedly joked about getting a shot blocked by Tracy McGrady in the NBA Celebrity Game on Friday night at nearby Staples Center

Sure, Watson can be a little whiny. Okay, a lot whiny.

But he's Bubba. And he's back.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Kevin Na
Na has always triggered emotions in the RotoWire league, and perhaps yours, too. He goes hot and cold, he's a slow player. He's a bit maddening to watch. Plus he shot that infamous 16 a few years back. Na had a bad year last year and a bad start to this season, with not even a top-35. And then someone in our league dropped him. But he's strung together a T20 at Pebble and now a co-runner-up at Riviera and, when he's eligible to be reclaimed in our league on March 1, he will have many suitors. Such is life. Such is Na.

Tony Finau
Finau continues to be fantasy gold. If he actually would win a tournament, we guess that would make him fantasy platinum. But he turned in another stellar effort with a tie for second at Riviera, his second runner-up, third top-10 and fifth top-25 already this season. If you can live with that, with his putting always holds him back from victory (T44 in SG putting this week), you guys will get along great. Besides, he's not as maddening as Na.

Scott Stallings
Stallings was playing worse than Na until catching fire the last three weeks. He was T23 at Phoenix, solo seventh at Pebble and T4 at Riviera. And now he heads to the Honda, where he tied for 21st last year. We're not saying to pick him next week. We're just saying, nicely done.

Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay had his chances to win on Sunday, instead settling for a T4 with Stallings. He's already won once this year, and his four solid jaunts around Riviera make it easy to envision a second Cantlay title in the near future. His years-long back woes seem completely forgotten. We should see Cantlay next in the WGC-Mexico in two weeks. Now, that would be quite a win.

Phil Mickelson
We have to admit, Mickelson has been impressive the past five weeks. Just playing five in a row takes some work, especially at age 47. But with top-6s the past three tournaments, including Sunday's T6, it really makes you wonder whether Mickelson will get back into winner's circle soon. He'll skip the Honda but play Mexico, where he tied for seventh last year. And, as he said on TV on Sunday, the course has the same grasses as Riviera does. But the WGC is a far tougher field, and just another top-10 would be fantastic for Mickelson.

Graeme McDowell
McDowell ran out of gas to tumble down the leaderboard, bogeying six of his final 10 holes to tie for 26th. The Irishman is nearing 40 and can't compete on the longer, birdie-filled courses. But he did well at Riviera, and he has a terrific track record at next week's PGA National, where the winning score is usually single digits. McDowell has four top-10s at the Honda in the past seven years and was T14 last year. We surely will consider him for our lineup.

Paul Casey
Note to self: When Casey, Mr. Automatic Top-25 and sometimes Mr. Automatic Top-10, plays the rare course that gives him trouble, don't think he'll find a way. And certainly don't pick him at $10,000-plus. Casey turned in twin T39s the two previous years at Riviera before settling into a tie for 49th his year. Yes, he lost in a playoff back in 2015, but that's been the aberration. Stick with the courses at which he traditionally does well.

Jamie Lovemark
Lovemark is another guy recently kicked to the curb in the RotoWire league and, like with Na, it was a reactionary move. Lovemark had missed half his eight cuts with one good finish (T5 in South Korea) and seven terrible showings. But he's still young and had been on the rise. That doesn't guarantee success. But it should warrant patience. Lovemark tied for 26th at Riviera. Tuck that in your back pocket for a few weeks, because now Lovemark heads to a track where he's always been dreadful. He's missed five of six cuts at PGA National.

Shane Lowry
Anecdotally, Lowry seems to get a lot of love when he comes to the States. He's won a WGC and was top-10 at two U.S. Opens, including T2 in 2016. But he hasn't had a great record in "regular" PGA Tour events, and now he's playing more regular PGA Tour events and, thus, doing poorly in more regular PGA Tour events. He's played four straight weeks, going MC-T65-T43 before another MC at Riviera. He's played the Honda once, tying for 53rd two years ago. Consider yourself warned.

Tiger Woods
Well, we had to talk Tiger, didn't we? We didn't expect much from Woods this past week, certainly not at the lofty DraftKings price of $8,800. He wasn't winning at Riviera when he was the best golfer by miles, so what made anyone think this time would be different? That said, Woods now heads to PGA National, another stingy track at which he's never won (like at Riviera, he does have a runner-up, in 2011). But thing is, PGA National has water. On 16 holes. We haven't seen Woods' prices yet. But with the way he's been driving it in his two tournaments since returning … (do we really need to finish this water-logged sentence?).