Bubba Watson on fire, storms to top of 2014 Northern Trust Open leaderboard

Last we saw Bubba Watson, he was airmailing approach shots and missing a putt to make bogey on the 72nd hole to lose the Phoenix Open. Watson, who is clearly in form here on the west coast swing, is on fire this weekend at Riviera and has sprinted to the top of the leaderboard at the Northern Trust Open, looking to atone for those late mistakes and get his first win since the 2012 Masters.

Bubba put on a show throughout his front nine at Riv, making five birdies to go out in 30 and continue the streak from Saturday that resulted in a third round 64. Before he caught fire over the last 27 holes, Watson was 1-under and in a tie for 40th, but the classic Riviera sets up some dramatic risk/reward opportunities for a bomber like Bubba. He started the day by taking driver off No. 1 (which made Nick Faldo and Peter Oosterhuis incredulous on the broadcast) and attempting a crazy cut shot way out over the right rough. His ball stayed out right, but Watson, in a comparable angle to that amazing playoff shot that won him the Masters, drew a perfect long iron up to the back of the green for a solid eagle chance. He would two-putt for birdie but Watson was off and running, chasing a group of relatively inexperienced and untested leaders in William McGirt, George McNeil, and Charlie Beljan.

The bending approach shot on No. 1 was just the start of Watson’s shotmaking show on the outward nine. His short game has matched the length and creativity with the long game too, highlighted by his hole out from the bunker on the par-3 sixth (via PGATour.com):

The front side par-3s, particularly No. 4, are two of the harder holes on the entire course and Bubba made birdie at both to put the pressure on the leaders playing behind him. He calmly put a 15-footer dead center at No. 8 to take the outright lead before he even made the turn (via PGATour.com):

While it’s hard to imagine Bubba keeping this pace, he’ll need to avoid the blow-up hole coming into the house because the leaderboard is pretty loaded right now. Another Masters champ, Charl Schwartzel, is just one shot back and studs like Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson are within striking distance We’ve seen Bubba struggle down the stretch during the winless streak since that breakthrough major win, but it’s his to lose with less than holes to play at Riviera. Here’s a current snapshot of the leaderboard around Bubba:

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