Left field

Has ‘Bubba golf’ got the legs for world domination?

Inspired by Bubba Watson’s brilliance, beautifully encapsulated in that wedge from the pine needles on Augusta’s feared 10th hole en route to winning the Masters on Sunday, I took to the range for a good old clout of the golf ball rather than worrying about a textbook swing.

Ugly noise. Ball darts off right. Left-handed kid receiving a lesson two bays away, who when asked who his favourite player was replies “Bubba Watson”, hits it better with the same club (7 iron).

Try again. Legs and body sway violently. My wrists, better suited for short game artistry (well, escaping from behind trees and the like), bend like rubber while my head is about as stationary as a last-day Masters crowd galloping up the side of the fairway to glimpse a view of the winning putt.

The result of my second shot, or the next 168 balls I hit, is irrelevant. The point is that the unorthodox genius of Watson is unrivalled in the world of golf. Long may it continue.

Any instructor would tell you to ‘Look away now’ as the newly crowned Masters champion larrups another tee shot with his legs moving all over the place or bends a sand wedge into a tricky pin from 170 yards.  No one was averting their eyes on Sunday.

Can it last though? Watson’s first PGA Tour title, in June 2010, was four and a half years in the making after his debut in 2006 and his form has always been sporadic, until this year. So far in 2012 he has chalked up one win at the Masters, three top-fives and a worst finish of tied-18th.

Whether his current run of form can continue for years and years in the same vein as Tiger Woods is a tough question. Less than a year ago Louis Oosthuizen, defeated by Watson in the Masters playoff on Sunday, said to me he simply “wasn’t swinging it well” when I asked him the reasons behind missing the cut at the European Tour’s flagship event, the PGA Championship.

from Tom Pilcher:

Two money list titles or a major? Opinion divided over Donald’s 2011

A quick glimpse at the statistics of Luke Donald’s season and you can’t fail to be impressed, though despite a record-breaking 2011 the world number one still has his doubters.

So, those statistics. 25 tournaments entered, two money list titles (he became the first person to win both the PGA Tour and European Tour order of merit honours in the same season), four victories, 19 top 10s (including wins), and three top 20s. Crucially however, no major title.

Does this make Donald’s season less successful? Certainly, but by no means should his phenomenal consistency be mocked, Australian golfer Aaron Baddeley said earlier this year.

Golf, after all, is a difficult sport to be consistent in, and while Donald might lack the big-hitting explosive talent of Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy, his ability to keep turning in good results even when off form has been remarkable this past season.

Like any sportsman at the top of their game, Donald knows winning the big titles matters most and the 34-year-old will want to land one of golf's four most treasured prizes in 2012.

Around a year ago Donald was answering to critics, such as one American writer who had coined the phrase "Luke Donald disease" in an article about under-achievers in golf.

"The critics will always be there and they make me stronger to be honest," Donald said. "Every time someone says I can't do a thing it just makes me work harder."

Daly brightens up Wentworth (and it’s not just down to the trousers)

World number seven Paul Casey may be less than enamoured with John Daly’s dress sense but he remains a big fan of the colourful American’s golfing skills.

Twice major winner Daly is in the middle of a five-week run of tournaments in Europe and while his golf has been largely unspectacular, his multi-coloured trousers have certainly captured everyone’s attention.

“I saw John today and look at his trousers, they were outrageous,” Casey told reporters at the PGA Championship at Wentworth on Thursday. “I hope he’s getting a lot of money (for wearing them).

“But today I saw him hit this four-iron fantastically and he stopped it on the green and it was from about 230 yards. That was something. There are a lot of great players out here but John creates memories. When he’s out on the golf course he brings a smile to people’s faces and that’s the most important thing.”

Daly achieved his best result for nearly four years when the 1991 U.S. PGA champion and 1995 British Open winner tied second in this month’s Italian Open.

He has often been the subject of unsavoury headlines but has worked hard on his game since being banned in November for bringing the U.S. PGA Tour into disrepute after he was accused of being drunk outside a bar.

“I think he is a great guy at heart,” said Ryder Cup player Casey. “Has he possibly made a couple of mistakes (in his time)? Yes, but I think they pale in comparison to what’s going on in the world in general right now.