After 25 years getting paid to cover sports, golf in this case, there are a few players I would actually pay to see perform. Ali in his prime, Barry Sims, Georgie Best, Bobby Hull in the old days, Gretz, Mario when he was in the mood are just a few..
In this era, head and shoulders above the rest, not in ability but just to watch is Bubba Watson. You never know what he is going to do with each shot, and nobody in the game today shapes the ball the way he does. The man is an emotional bag of bones, there are times he putts like a 10 handicapper, sometimes his shots don't come off, sometimes he's just not interested when he doesn't like the course or the weather, but damn it he is entertaining.
Final scoreboard http://espn.go.com/golf/leaderboard?tour=pga
Overnight if you missed it he emerged from a pack of six to beat Tim Clark with a birdie on the first playoff hole of the WGC HSBC Champions on a tough Sheshan International course. That not half the story..
Seemingly in charge at -12, he promptly made bogey on 16, then double on the par 3 17th including 2 from the bunker to drop to -9, two shots behind the pack of Hiroshi Iwata, Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, Clark and Rickie Fowler who were all taking turns at -10 and -11..
Coming down the par 5 18th he drove the ball 330 yards and hit a nine iron most of 200 but into the greenside bunker..Interrupted by a camera on his downswing in the bunker, he stopped himself, backed off, splashed out and watched it run and curl down the hill right into the cup for the eagle 3, back to -11.
Tim Clark, fully 75 yards behind Bubba off the tee, laid up, relied on his wedge game and made birdie 4 to get to -11
Kaymer at -10, laid up on 18 then hit his 3rd into the water to end his hopes, as did Rickie who ended up -10, Iwata missed a putt to end up at -10 as did Graeme McDowell.
In the playoff Bubba bombed his drive, hit his approach into the same bunker, while Clark laid up, hit his wedge 3rd to 20 feet, not his best.
Bubba fluffed his bunker shot this time leaving it way short and well above the hole. Clark missed his birdie, then of course Bubba rolled the ball gingerly down just trying to 2 putt and of course it rolled right in !
When play started the top 9 on the leaderboard were from 8 different countries, all playing in the Far East... my how golf has grown..
LPGA ..Meanwhile in Japan, Laura Davies (71) as I wrote yesterday was vying to become the oldest winner in LPGA history but she came up just a shot shy in a group of 8 players at -10.
The winner in a 3 way playoff was yet another South Korean Mi Hyang Lee who birdied the fifth hole to win the Mizuno Classic for her first win, beating compatriot Ilhee Lee and Japan's Kotono Kozuma. She shot 69 in regulation to finish tied at 11-under 205 with Ilhee Lee (70) and Kozuma, who also had a 69 in the final round.
Final scoreboard http://espn.go.com/golf/leaderboard?tour=lpga
Bryan Angus
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