2016 Northern Trust Open results: Bubba Watson wins at Riviera again

In our persistent quest to hype up the young generation that has overtaken the game of golf, we often forget just how damn good Bubba Watson is. Those young guns are definitely the dominant narrative -- whether it’s a “Big Four” or some other indeterminate number -- but it leaves Bubba, maybe the game’s most unique talent, out of the discussion simply because he’s just a few years older.

Watson fired another early-season reminder on Sunday in Los Angeles that he’s among the top four or five players in the world, winning the Northern Trust Open for the second time in three years. When he won at Riviera in 2014, he went on to win the Masters a couple months later and finished with the best season of his career, one he continually called the “Year of Rejoicing.” We like to get on Bubba, often justifiably because he’s so unnecessarily grumpy, but only Rory has been better over the last five years.

Bubba did not do anything too spectacular on Sunday -- there was no wild or memorable shot as he so often authors during these wins. There were, of course, the flashy drives with the completely unorthodox swing motion.

But no major hole-out, putt, or turning point -- he simply outlasted a loaded leaderboard around him and then chased down Jason Kokrak over the final four holes. An inward 2-under 34 was enough. He started with a narrow lead over a world-class set of bombers that included McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, and Adam Scott. The Aussie Scott would prove to be the biggest challenger throughout the day, starting hot, then going cold with the putter, and then chipping in on the 18th to apply some last-minute pressure.

Kokrak played next to Bubba and had the edge on him until that final stretch, but he’d never won on Tour and had never really been in this position. It showed down the stretch and the decorated Bubba took advantage, flipping from two shots down to one ahead in just three holes, Nos. 15 through 17. He stuffed it close at the 18th to eliminate Scott, who needed a Bubba bogey, while Kokrak needed to make a birdie of his own. That just about sealed it.

Bubba should be among the two or three favorites at Augusta every year. The course just sets up perfectly for him. He may never come close to winning the other three majors, but he should contend annually at the Masters and add to those two green jackets he already possesses.

At Riviera, a historic and classic setup, Bubba bombs away and it’s not even about hitting the fairways. Bubba said as much on Friday, indicating the angles, which he’s mastered at Riv, are more important than being in the fairway. He knows those exact spots and angles at Augusta too, and with a win already up on the board he’ll roll into that familiar spot with even more confidence as he tries to repeat the Riv-Augusta double from 2014. We’ll be fixated on the young guys -- Spieth, Rory, Rickie, Day, et al. -- but Bubba is probably the scariest guy in the field.

Here are your final results from Riviera: