Bubba Watson makes controversial Tiger Woods claim

Not for the first time, Bubba Watson has stoked the fire over a fierce golf debate.

Earlier this month, the two-time Masters champion was derided by some on social media for reiterating his belief that 15 LIV Golf players deserve to be represented in every major championship.

Watson’s suggestion that the top 15 LIV stars on the points list should qualify for the big four events came after the US Open and The Open both acknowledged the breakaway league with one automatic berth.

As it stands, though, Watson is only eligible for the Masters as a past champion and has not played in a major outside Augusta National since 2022.

And ahead of his return to the famed Georgia layout in under two weeks’ time, Watson made another controversial claim in a wide-ranging interview with GOLF.

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Watson insisted that defending champion Scottie Scheffler’s 2024 was even more successful than Tiger Woods’ remarkable 2000.

“I know Tiger did some stuff in 2000 but Scottie’s year was the best we’ve ever seen,” he said. “With all the talent around the world now playing, that was it.”

Watson, unsurprisingly, is in the minority on this one – if you are going off views on social media, anyway.

Woods’ unparalleled year of dominance 25 years ago saw him win nine titles, including three majors. He stormed the US Open by 15 shots at Pebble Beach and The Open at St Andrews by eight. There were also another four runner-up finishes.

Meanwhile, Scheffler’s Masters victory was his only triumph in a major, while he won seven times on the PGA Tour and an Olympic gold medal in Paris.

Watson believes his former longtime caddie Ted Scott, who helped him win his two Masters titles in 2012 and 2014, has elevated Scheffler’s game to the next level.

“Scottie was already a great golfer,” Watson added. “But that friendship and that bond [with Ted], he went to an elite golfer.”

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Watson, meanwhile, has missed the last two cuts in the Masters and has not had a top-ten on the LIV league in two years. Still, he was asked by GOLF if he still believes he can win another Masters.

“I truly do,” he said. “It comes down to mental strength, mental awareness. It comes down to making a few putts here and there. Golf is such a fine line — you make one putt or you chip in at the right moment and it inspires you for the rest of the day or the tournament.

“Truthfully, I’ve had the thought: If you do it, like if you actually pull it off… I mean, I’m 46. You’re talking about [the same age] Jack Nicklaus was when he won. If you did that, you know, maybe you drop the shoes on the green and walk off forever. That’d be a cool moment, right?”

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.