Bubba Named Fifth U.S. Vice Captain

Bubba Watson missed out on qualifying for the U.S. team as a player, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be at Hazeltine this week in a different capacity. Yesterday, Davis Love III named the seventh-ranked player in the world as fifth vice-captain, joining the likes of Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and Tom Lehman.

“As our team has really bonded over the last couple months, Bubba has offered a couple times to be one of our assistant captains. I told him we have an extra red cart, and we’d love to have him,” Captain Love said in a press conference. “Our team is rounded out, both on the captains’ side and the players’ side. We’re ready to go and excited to get to playing.”

The announcement comes on the heels of awarding the fourth and final captain’s pick to a well-deserving Ryan Moore.

“I called him last night and told him I was going in a different direction, and he immediately said, ‘I still want to be a part of this team if you’ll have me.’ Incredible gesture,” Love said. “What Bubba did really shows how together the U.S. team really is. We’re excited to have him.”

Think Bubba’s excited?