On the PGA Tour, the best players in the world are able to see shots us mere mortals can't see. They can cut off doglegs, fly over trees, take on small windows and wow us with their precision. But none of what you've seen in the past can prepare you for what Bubba Watson did on Monday in the delayed finish to the inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan.
Watson was playing the par-5 sixth hole at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. The hole is designed to play with a sharp dogleg to the right, effectively requiring a golf to fit their drive in a narrow landing area. The trees are perhaps too tall for a longer hitter to hit over, meaning there's not a whole lot for the golfer to do in front of them.
That's when Bubba Watson decided to execute on an idea some people can only imagine. Watson decided to tee the ball up in the box, turn sideways, find a gap between the trees and the hole sign, and then take a huge rip at a big left-handed cut.
This is the CRAZIEST golf shot I have ever seen in my life!! Wait till the end!!!! @bubbawatson giving a new meaning to cutting the corner on the par 5 @zozochamp 👀 🤯 pic.twitter.com/UTHf0nfGl6
— Seb Carmichael-Brown (@sebcbrown4) October 27, 2019
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That's some amazing vision. Watson clearly realized the hole effectively just plays down that line, noticing the hole ran parallel to his line after the dogleg. By hitting the drive on the line he did, he basically took the dogleg out of play. The goal was apparently to put the ball in play on that parallel path and then get on the green easily in two.
The move might have been shocking, but it was smart golf in concept.
Unfortunately for Watson, he didn't convert that drive into a circle on the card. He made a par 5 on the sixth. He was 2 over par on the round at that point, heading backward quickly on the leaderboard. It didn't get better from there for Watson, who shot 5-over 75 in the final round to drop from a T-23 starting position into a tie for 51st place.
But, what vision!