Bubba Watson makes Masters comparison with key reason for LIV Golf switch

20 October 2023 , 21:57

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Bubba Watson compared the LIV Golf ring to the Masters green jacket (Image: Scott Taetsch/LIV Golf/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Bubba Watson has compared chasing a potential LIV Golf Team Championship ring to winning the green jacket at the Masters, as the American opened up on the reasoning behind his decision to join the breakaway league.

Watson is playing the the season-ending LIV Team Championship in Miami, where all 12 teams are competing for the £42 million ($50m) purse on offer. Watson's RangeGoats have already experienced success this campaign, after his teammate Talor Gooch was crowned individual champion in Jeddah last week.

In doing so Gooch was handed the LIV Golf ring in honour of his victory, as the Saudi-backed league's bullish CEO Greg Norman took to one knee to place the ring on his finger.

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Unsurprisingly Watson is keen to do the double in Florida this week, especially after seeing his teammate kitted out with his new bling. The two-time Masters champion went on to claim that winning the LIV ring brings similar motivation to that of the famous green jacket at Augusta.

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"After seeing that ring that Talor got we are all thinking 'maybe there are rings for the team' so there is even more pressure," he told the LIV commentary team.

"It is like the green jacket. Forget all the other stuff, it is the green jacket and it is the trophy, the rings we might get, all these things that is what we get excited about."

Bubba Watson's team have already enjoyed success (Montana Pritchard/LIV Golf/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Watson's RangeGoats team have been given an upper-hand on a number of their LIV rivals, having received a bye into the semi-finals thanks to their position in the season-long standings.

The breakaway circuit has prided itself on the success of its team element in its competition, and ahead of the end of this week's event, LIV will enter uncharted territory when their free agency in the off-season opens for the 12 teams to make changes to their rosters.

This will no doubt add yet another chapter of drama to the LIV Golf story, and for Watson this was a key reason behind his move. "There is going to be so much [player] movement, that is the beauty of this league," the RangeGoats captain added.

"In the off-season, the free agency, the moving parts. Who better fits your team motto, your team mould and that is why we jumped ship and come over here. This is the fun stuff that we have all watched in other sports. Watson joined the LIV setup last summer having won 12 events in 16 years on the PGA Tour.

Joshua Lees