Bubba Watson has made no secret of his desire to play a role on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and his win last week at Riviera launched him squarely into contention for one of the 12 prized spots on Jim Furyk’s 2018 squad.
Bubba Watson boosts Ryder Cup chances with win at Riviera
Bubba really wants another shot as vice-captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team. But he might just play his way onto Jim Furyk’s squad for the matches on a Paris course that was the site of one of Watson’s more embarrassing outbursts.
Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Watson told Golf Digest last week he has been “bugging” the Team USA captain about returning to the biennial contest as an assistant captain. Furyk, however, has told the 10-time PGA Tour winner he wants him on the field as a competitor for the Paris tilt.
“I told him I want to be a co-captain,” Watson said from the Genesis Open, where he ended a two-year victory drought on Sunday. “But can I be a vice-captain if I’m not good enough to make it? He’s not really listening to me.”
Watson’s third win at the Riv propelled him from 60th place to No. 10 in Ryder Cup points. With a career Ryder Cup record of 3-8 in his three straight starts as a player, he last appeared for the U.S. in 2014. Despite a No. 7 world ranking two years ago, he did not qualify for an automatic position and 2016 skipper Davis Love III passed him over as a captain’s pick.
DL3 eventually chose Watson as an assistant captain alongside Furyk, Tiger Woods, Tom Lehman, and Steve Stricker, a role the emotional winner of two Masters titles relished.
“The last two years … I was seventh in the world, didn’t get picked for the Ryder Cup, which I shouldn’t have. Ryan Moore played unbelievable for the playoffs,” Watson told reporters after nailing down the Genesis win with a par putt on the 72nd hole and soaring from 117th to No. 40 in the world rankings. “It was a thrill of a lifetime to be vice-captain. I would do it in a heartbeat again if someone would let me.”
Turns out, Furyk may not let Bubba drive a cart or wave the flag from the sidelines, given his recent responses to Watson’s pleas to act as a cheerleading go-fer to Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, et al.
“He’s been texting back to me this week, ‘No, you’re too good. You need to be on our team playing,’” said Watson, who made an excellent case on Sunday to play Le Golf National Albatros Course come September.
Funny thing about Bubba and the track in a suburb of Paris — after missing the cut at the European Tour’s 2011 French Open, Watson blamed unruly fans and lax crowd control for his poor play and generally acted like a spoiled brat.
Watson later apologized for his bad behavior.
[h/t Shane Bacon for the screen shots]
We’ll see in about seven months if French spectators are willing to forgive and forget.
