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- Bubba Watson fell apart on the back nine in the final round of the Travelers Championship on Sunday.
- Watson played the final five holes 6-over and fell to a tie for 19th, costing him quite a payday.
- After his round, Watson had a good attitude about his game despite his collapse.
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Bubba Watson was once again having a great time at the Travelers Championship.
Watson had already won the tournament three times in his career heading into the weekend and was tied atop the leaderboard in a great position to take the trophy a fourth time after three rounds of play.
But through the final stretch of holes on Sunday, Watson fell apart.
After playing the first 67 holes of the tournament 13 strokes under par, Watson played the final five holes of the weekend at six-over, with five bogeys and a double-bogey to close out.
One bogey on No. 14, and the downward spiral was on.
He found the water at No. 15, missed a putt at No. 16, and found water again at No. 17. By the time he reached the 18th green, Watson had played himself well out of the tournament.
-PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 27, 2021
For a player that had shown such mastery of the course both through the years and through the weekend, it was a disappointing way to finish. Watson dropped back from the top of the leaderboard to a tie for 19th, earning him $87,690 in winnings.
Had Watson been able to play the final five holes at even-par or better, as he had in the previous three rounds, he would have at least held on to a share of the lead, made the playoff with Harris English and Kramer Hickok.
In the three-person playoff, Watson would have finished the tournament in at least solo third place - a performance that would have earned him $510,600. In second place, he would have won $806,600. And had Watson been able to win the tournament, he would have walked with $1.33 million and the Travelers Championship trophy for the fourth time in his career.
Even though his late collapse cost him at least $400,000, Watson had a pretty upbeat attitude about his performance over the weekend, proud to have been in a position to compete through the final few holes, even if he came up short.
"Gosh, I've thrown up on myself before here. Made a triple on 16 to lose when I was up by one or two that year," Watson said after his round, referencing a similar collapse he suffered at the tournament back in 2013.
"I'm glad that I was there, had the opportunity," he said. "You know, I would love to do it again next week, throw up on myself again. It would be great. I want the opportunity and the chance to win."
Watson will get the chance to play again this weekend when the Rocket Mortgage Classic tees off at the Detroit Golf Club.