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During the third event of the LIV golf calendar, Bubba Watson was unveiled as the latest signing of the Saudi Arabia-backed series, with the two-time Masters champion penning a deal reportedly in the region of $50m.
After not competing since the PGA Championship in May due to a knee injury, Watson has slipped down the world rankings. However, he remains a prominent figure in the game and is expected to serve next year when the LIV Golf League kicks off as he continues his recovery from surgery.
Declaring on Twitter that he will be captain, the American is looking forward to the team aspect, with Watson bizarrely noting that golf is “not an individual sport anymore”.
🗣️ “It’s not an individual sport anymore” Bubba Watson discusses his decision to join the LIV golf series.pic.twitter.com/YI5p3ISlpsam 30th July 2022
“When I think about the team atmosphere at the 2016 Ryder Cup, I was number seven in the world, but I was an assistant captain and I enjoyed that, I enjoyed it more than the golf itself,” said Watson.
“For me to give some knowledge, to give encouragement, to help the team grow, to help the team get better and try to win tournaments and try to build the game at the back end if you Talking about junior camps and what our teams can do together is a breeze.
“My wife loved it, she loved the idea, we prayed about it, we came to the decision and here we are talking to you guys. When you have people on your team, it’s no longer a one-on-one sport where you try to hit balls and figure out how to play the game yourself.
“Now you have people to get ideas from. The atmosphere is another thing that we didn’t have and now we’re bringing it out, I’ve only heard great things, everyone I spoke to on the tour said it was fantastic and they were so excited that they made it.”
Watson looks back on the Ryder Cup 2016, the USA would win 17:11
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Watson’s move means that half of the players participating in the Player Impact Program, a $40 million prize pool divided between the top 10 players based on a range of metrics including global media attention, search engine traffic and social media engagement, has now moved to LIV, with Watson, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka all moving to the Saudi-backed series.
Not only has he featured in the PIP, but Watson is now the 11th Major champion on the LIV roster, while Norman continues to lure big names away from traditional Tours.
Among the latest recruits is Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who was stripped of the Ryder Cup captaincy for breaching contract terms he signed to lead Europe at the 2023 Rome game.
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