As you may know, Webb Simpson finished second at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans after losing to Bubba Watson in the sudden death playoff.
The truth is, he was a LOT closer to winning than some people thought he was.
Firstly, he actually had a 3 shot lead with 8 holes to play at one point of the final round.
Then he gave 2 strokes away with his bogey on 12 and Bubba's birdie on 13.
He still had a one stroke lead by the time he got to the 15th hole. BUT...
Just as he unmarked his ball and was about to hit his 1 foot par putt, his ball moved by less than a centimetre. Since he already addressed the ball, that meant he got a one stroke penalty. Resulting in a bogey on that hole.
He wound up with a tie with Bubba Watson and they went into a playoff. On the first playoff hole, with Webb Simpson already in for a birdie, Bubba Watson holed out his 12 foot birdie putt to extend the playoff. Bubba won the playoff in the 2nd playoff hole with a birdie when Simpson parred.
So therefore, Webb Simpson would have won the tournament if he had not incurred the penalty on the 15th OR if Bubba didn't make his clutch 12 foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole.
Very, VERY close call by Simpson. He was literally one hair away from winning the tournament.
Firstly, this rule was ridiculous and the USGA really needs to have this rule modified. Even if a player has already addressed the ball, if HE did not move the ball (if it was wind, gravity, etc) then he shouldn't be the one paying for it. He should replace the ball with NO penalty. One highly negative aspect about golf rules is that they penalize players without the slightest consideration of COMMON SENSE.
Secondly, one major factor of this rules infraction is Webb Simpson's SLOW PLAY. Sometimes I find it rather annoying when a guy's ball is about foot away from the hole, yet they still mark the ball, and wait until his partner plays. Honestly, when you've got anything less than 2 feet, for simplicity's sake, you should just tap it in. Unless you get really careless, you shouldn't miss it anyway. Unless you're John Rollins (who three-putted from 2 feet!). Anyway, Webb Simpson should indeed play faster. If slow players like Simpson were to putt out when they've got a putt such a short distance, then they could waste MUCH less time and the pace of play can be MUCH faster.
Tough loss for Simpson. Though he didn't exactly lose the tournament, Bubba won it from him with his clutch performance down the stretch.
Bubba Watson is well known for his long drives, but that's definitely not the ONLY thing he's good at. Bubba's also got a creative short game and he had shown the ability to sink clutch putts in pressure situations.
That was a great Bubba moment, when he sank that do-or-die 12 foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to stay alive and eventually win.
However, my FAVOURITE Bubba moment so far has to be back January at the Farmers Insurance Open. On the last hole, he holed a 12 foot birdie putt to deny Phil Mickelson the win. One word: PRICELESS!!! (Yes, I often enjoyed rooting against Phil.) And that putt ensured that Phil is still NOT the #1 player in the world rankings and never was. Had Phil won the Farmers Insurance Open he would have been #1 after his win at the Shell Houston Open. Thankfully Bubba Watson sanked that 12 foot birdie putt at the Farmers to deny Phil the win and what would be now Phil's #1 ranking. PRICELESS!!!
Congrats to Bubba for a great win, better luck next time Webb Simpson.
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