20 things to know about Bubba!

With the Masters exactly two weeks away, we’ve dug out some facts you maybe didn’t know about popular defending champion Bubba Watson.

1. His real name is Gerry.

2. He was born and raised in Bagdad. No, not that one. Bagdad, Florida.

3. He went to the same high school as fellow future PGA Tour stars Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley.

4. His favourite colour is pink.

5. He has never had a lesson. Like, ever.

6. It is reckoned that Bubba can generate a ball speed of up to 194mph – exceeding the PGA Tour average by almost 30mph.

7. His wife, Angie, is a former professional basketball player.

8. He likes big grips on his clubs. According to recent reports, he gets ten extra wraps of tape under the top half and 12 under the bottom half.

9. In 2013, he became a ‘Great Floridian’, a list of well-known Florida residents that also includes John B. Stetson, the inventor of the Stetson hat.

10. His longest recorded drive in professional competition was clocked at the 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational… and measured 442 yards.

11. He has been a devout Christian for a number of years. “I would say 2004 was my true time of becoming a Christian and shaping me into the man I am today,” he is on record as saying.

12. He bought the original General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard at a car auction for a six-figure sum in 2012.

13. He buttons his shirt all the way to the top because loose collars distract him when he swings.

14. The secret to his two Masters victories? Burritos.

15. In 2013, he bought Tiger Woods’ old Isleworth home for over $2m – then renovated ‘95% of it’.

16. He is one of only two left-handed players to have won multiple major titles. The other? Phil, of course.

17. He is currently 26th on the PGA Tour career money list, with earnings of $27,736,846.

18. Why is he called Bubba? After American football star Bubba Smith, apparently.

19. He is a massive fan of Justin Bieber. Well, somebody has to be.

20. He’s not much of a gear nut. He told bunkered last year: “I was playing in a charity event and a guy asked me how much loft I have on my putter. I was like, ‘Putters have loft?’

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor