Bubba Watson’s hooked wedge shot at Masters, draws laurels from Jack Nicklaus and Andy North
Left-handed Bubba Watson, the latest bearer of the coveted green jacket, is now the subject of almost every sports headline in the world, after his stellar victory at Augusta National a fortnight ago.
Playing quintessential golf for the four-day stretch in the 76th episode of the Masters, Watson was locked in a stiff Playoff showdown with the 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and was eager to bag his first major title of his grizzled career.
The duo remained even-par on the first playoff on the 18th and went over for another nerve-wrecking playoff hole on the 17th.
Carefully timing his drive for the 17th, Watson landed in the brush and needed a magical wedge to hit the green. He pulled in a hooked wedge and as the ball landed on the green it swirled and stopped just a few feet from the hole.
The crowd drenched in an eerie silence before Watson sank the ball for a par, landing the title. Nicklaus considers the shot as one of the greatest shots of all times.
He said, "When you're playing a hook it usually takes off. But that ball danced like it had a lot of backspin on it. I saw that ball hit the green and I said, 'Wow.' That was something".
"Not only did he play the shot, but he played the shot and ended up with control at the end of the shot — which I thought was the amazing part. That will go down as one of the great shots ever played in the game".
He added, "Watson produced that shot when he had to produce it, I did. Those are the ones you remember".
Nicklaus was accompanied by defending champion of the Memorial Steve Stricker and two-time U.S. Open champion and golf analyst, Andy North at the charity Luncheon organised at the inaugural session of the Memorial Tournament on Monday, April 16.
North also hailed Watson’s shot as a magical one and said that the golf fans will remember that shot forever.
Nicklaus is the founder and the co-host of the Memorial Tournament and has helped the event raise millions in charity bids for the hospital.
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