Bubba Watson never took a formal golf lesson. He plays left-handed, shapes the ball more aggressively than almost anyone in the modern game, and has won the Masters twice with a self-taught swing that no coach would have built on purpose. He now captains a team in LIV Golf.
Quick Bio / At a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Gerry Lester “Bubba” Watson Jr. |
| From | Bagdad, Florida, United States |
| College | University of Georgia |
| Plays | Left-handed; self-taught |
| Major Championships | Two — the Masters, 2012 and 2014 |
| Current Tour | LIV Golf |
| Team | Captain of RangeGoats GC |
| Wife | Angie Watson, a former professional basketball player |
| Married | 2004 |
| Children | Two, both adopted — Caleb (2012) and Dakota (2014) |
Bagdad, Florida
Watson grew up in Bagdad, in the Florida panhandle, taught to play by his father. He never worked with a swing coach, and still does not — a fact that separates him from essentially every other elite player of his era.
He played college golf at the University of Georgia, where he met his future wife Angie, a basketball player who is, like him, six foot three.
The 2012 Masters
Watson’s first major came in a playoff at Augusta National in 2012. The shot that decided it is one of the most replayed in the tournament’s history: from deep in the trees right of the tenth fairway, with no line to the green, he hit a wedge with an enormous hook that curved roughly forty yards through the air and finished on the putting surface.
It is a shot that exists only because of how he was taught — or rather, not taught. Watson has always played curves rather than straight lines.
He won the green jacket again in 2014, this time by three shots.
The Move to LIV Golf
Watson joined LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed circuit, and captains its RangeGoats GC team. The move ended his PGA Tour career and, like every other player’s decision on that question, drew significant criticism.
He recorded the best season of his LIV career in 2025 and entered 2026 still seeking a first individual win on the league.
Augusta
As a past champion Watson retains a lifetime invitation to the Masters, and he has been open that winning it a third time remains the target.
His 2026 appearance did not go to plan: he opened poorly, turning five over after four bogeys and no birdies on the front nine, recovered to play the back nine one under, and missed the cut by a single shot at five over.
Family
Watson and Angie married in 2004. They have two adopted children: a son, Caleb, who came home in March 2012 — weeks before the first Masters win — and a daughter, Dakota, in December 2014.
Both adoptions have shaped his public work; he has spoken about them frequently and consistently in the context of his charitable involvement.
The Other Side of the Career
Watson has spoken publicly about anxiety and about the difficulty of a personality that reads badly on camera — he has been candid that he was disliked on tour for years and understood why.
He is also a substantial philanthropic figure, with long-running charitable partnerships and a set of business interests in his home region of Florida.
The Legacy of the Self-Taught Swing
Golf instruction has spent two decades converging on a repeatable, low-variance model. Watson is the loudest available argument against it: two majors, no coach, and a shot at Augusta that nobody could have taught him.
More golf coverage: Byron Nelson and Billy Horschel.
