This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
You'd have had to go back more than a decade to find the last time a golfer ranked outside the top-25 in the world won the WGC-Match Play. Most often the winner has been in the top-10. It's a pretty chalky event. So when the No. 39-ranked golfer wins the elite tournament, that's a surprise. Unless he's no ordinary No. 39.
Bubba Watson continued his golf reawakening by crushing Kevin Kisner 7-and-6 in the Match Play final on Sunday afternoon. That came just hours after Watson subdued Justin Thomas' bid to take over the No. 1 ranking in the OWGR, scoring a 3-and-2 victory in the semifinals.
Watson now moves up 18 spots to No. 21 in the rankings. But in all seriousness, over the last six weeks, he's been a top-five golfer, if not the top-one. And this return to prominence comes at just the right time, with the Masters beginning a week from Thursday. Of course, Watson is a two-time Augusta champion and will zoom even higher on oddsmakers' boards with this latest accomplishment.
After plummeting from the top-100 in the world with alarming speed during 2017, Watson jumped back inside by winning the Genesis Open last month. He followed that with a T9 at the WGC-Mexico, basically telling the golf world that the victory was no fluke. We can throw out the T66 at Bay Hill two weeks ago. It happens.
Watson talked a little at Riviera about his return to good golf, cryptically mentioning an injury now gone but refusing to elaborate. He said his wife had told him to stop feeling sorry for himself and get going. He also switched away from the bizarre pink golf ball he used last year. After winning at Austin Country Club on Sunday, Watson also said he switched putters just before Riviera. We're gonna call that a good move. (At the Match Play, he was 12th in strokes gained: putting.)
We will see Watson, and most of the golfers who made up the Match Play field, at the Masters. Some of them, notably Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson, will first play at this week's Houston Open.
Every week there's another storyline added to Masters week. And even though Watson became one of them at Riviera just last month, he had already fallen to a back burner. That's because since then we'd seen Tiger Woods resurface … and then Mickelson won … and then Rory McIlroy won. Every single week, another storyline.
What will next week's storyline be?
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Kevin Kisner
Kisner had done almost nothing during the first three months of 2018. No finish inside the top-15. And his ranking had reflected that, falling to 36th. Less than a year ago, he was top-20. Now, after a great week, Kisner is back to No. 25. He first advanced out of the bracket featuring Dustin Johnson. In hindsight, that may not be such a big deal after we saw the way Johnson played. But Kisner did handle a strong Alex Noren in the semifinals. Kisner has never done much at the Masters, finishing T37 and T43 in his two visits. So this week doesn't alter our thinking that we're not expecting anything big from him at Augusta.
Justin Thomas
Thomas needed to beat Watson in the semifinals to secure the No. 1 ranking. He didn't do it, but there is little question that he is deserving of the top spot right now. Thomas has not contended at Augusta before – T39 in 2016 and T22 last year – but he had never done much previously in the Match Play either, and the same could be said of some other tournaments this season. Thomas said he couldn't stop thinking that a win over Watson would've made him No. 1. It may be the best thing that could've happened to him heading into Augusta. That he'll be that much hungrier.
Alex Noren
Fair or not, Noren seems intertwined with Tommy Fleetwood. Both are Euro stars who recently have perched themselves roughly between 10th and 20th in the OWGR, and who both have decided to play more on the PGA Tour this season. Fleetwood arrived with higher expectations, but it's Noren who has performed more capably. The reason? Noren can putt, Fleetwood … not so much. Noren lost to Kisner in the semifinals but will head to the Masters in great form at No. 14 in the OWGR. We don't envision a win – the Swede has played Augusta only once, missing the cut last year – but being on the first page of the leaderboard is entirely possible. And maybe at a cheaper price than Fleetwood, who should struggle on the tricky Augusta greens.
Dustin Johnson
Johnson held on to his No. 1 ranking for at least a bit longer, but he was absolutely horrible last week, going 0-3 – not the best way to head to the Masters. Johnson has not played a lot of golf the past two months. He was a so-so T16 at Riviera and then T7 at the WGC Mexico. Good, but by his standards not great. As we saw with Rory McIlroy suddenly finding his world-class form two weeks ago, it can happen for Johnson. But it's a little hard to jump on board without any more reason than, "he can turn it around in an instant."
Jon Rahm
No. 3 in the world, Rahm will head to the Masters without so much as a top-10 since winning the CareerBuilder in January. Rahm flamed out of the Match Play with an 0-2-1 record. It's also hard to get to excited about his chances at Augusta.
Patrick Reed
Reed has been playing well of late, and he handled Jordan Spieth to win their Match Play bracket. Reed seemed so focused on taking down Spieth that he predictably had nothing left in the tank for his next match, whipped 5-and-3 by Noren. We get that Reed is an emotional player, and that often helps, but he needs to regulate his ups and downs if he really wants to be among the five or 10 elites.
Jordan Spieth
Spieth looked dreadful, again, in losing to Reed. Of all the top golfers, his form might be the worst heading into the Masters. Unlike all the guys mentioned above, Spieth has another week to right the ship, as he'll play the Houston Open this week. Nothing indicates a reversal but, as with McIlroy, he's good enough to find his game really fast. But he shouldn't wait. It's very hard to find your game at Augusta.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
Candidly, the best Thai golfer doesn't look much like an athlete, plus he tends to play in weaker tournaments in Asia and Europe. That makes his rise in the world rankings more surprising to many of us, now up to No. 29. But Aphibarnrat has done well in the two recent WGCs, tying for fifth in Mexico and reaching the Match Play round-of-16 before being knocked out by Watson. Along the way, he drubbed Rahm 4-and-3. Aphibarnrat has played the Masters just once before, tying for 15th two years ago. A similar result would not surprise this time around.
Sergio Garcia
Garcia lost in the round-of-16, which is actually quite respectable considering he just became a first-time dad the week before. Garcia has been on form, with recent top-10s at the WGC-Mexico and the Valspar. But entering the Masters as the defending champion brings all sorts of other stuff into the forecasting equation. Garcia is bound to be overwhelmed early in the week, being recongratulated for his victory, reminded of it everywhere he looks and being the star at the Champion's Dinner. Whether he can get his emotions in check by Thursday morning is the big question.
Brice Garnett
Garnett's life just changed in four short days by winning last week's opposite-field event, the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic. He had bounced around the PGA Tour for five years, not even getting there till he was almost 30. But now the golfer ranked 214th in the world coming in has locked up his Tour card for the rest of this season and then two more. A life-changer indeed. Garnett is now ranked No. 124. Rarely do the winners of these opposite-field events move on to bigger and better things. Especially if they're on the other side of 30. That said, Garnett once had a T7 at the Houston Open, so he'll have all sorts of good vibes going this week.
Corey Conners
Connors has played three great rounds in each of his last two tournaments. The fourth one has been a problem. He endured another Sunday meltdown at the Corales, falling from solo second to T13. Two weeks before, it was his fade as the 54-hole leader at the Valspar. As much as it surely hurts Connors now, the fact that he was in the mix a second time right after crumbling in the first bodes well for him down the road. He's much younger and with a much brighter future than Garnett.
Steve Stricker
A week after winning a PGA Tour Champion's event earlier this month, Stricker went to the Valspar and tied for 12th. On Sunday, Stricker notched another Champion's win at the Rapiscan Systems Classic, and now he heads to the Houston Open. Stricker is 3-for-3 in PGA Tour cuts this year, and another T12 would hardly be a surprise. Stricker has yet to qualify for the Masters and would need a win this week to get in.
