Bubba Watson remains one of the most polarizing players on the PGA Tour. Although he possesses an unbelievable amount of talent and creativity that has earned him nearly $40 million in on-the-course earnings and two major championships, Bubba has a tendency to rub some people the wrong way.
As it turns out, one of those Bubba detractors was on hand on Saturday at Muirfield Village Golf Club where Watson was making a move to climb into contention. Coming down the final hole, an unruly fan verbally berated Bubba, which resulted in the fan’s removal from the grounds.
Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch had more details on the run in.
Watson had a heckler removed from Muirfield Village Golf Club after the man shouted insults at the two-time Masters champion as he approached the 18th green, and kept at it as the player stood over an 18-foot, 10-inch birdie putt he made to shoot 4 under par, leaving him in a tie for third entering today’s final round.
A birdie and a bow for @bubbawatson‘s heckler ?? pic.twitter.com/CcjqoNYVy9
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 3, 2017
“Obviously, not a Bubba Watson fan,” said Watson, explaining that the heckler began the verbal barrage when he was about 50 yards from the green. “I’m taking a guess he wasn’t drinking water, like I was all day. I don’t mind a heckler, but you try to be quiet about it if you’re going to use the wrong language. I just wanted to get him out of here. I wasn’t yelling at him, so I didn’t like for him to yell at me, calling me names and different things.”
Watson said the heckler called him a loser and told him that everyone hates him.
“I think it was Teddy’s cousin,” Watson quipped, referring to his caddie Ted Scott.
The heckler was abusive, Scott said, at one point telling Watson to “Go back to the trailer park.”
Watson had Scott point out the heckler to the police officer who was accompanying him and Kevin Kisner through the round, but the initial confrontation did not go as planned.
“Teddy got the wrong guy first, before (the gallery) pointed the right guy out,” Watson said. “But I signed a glove for the first guy afterward.”
After things settled, Watson made his putt, then turned to where the man was being escorted away and bowed.
This wasn’t Bubba’s first time dealing with catcalls from unruly crowds. Last February, Watson was heckled and booed off of the infamous 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale during the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Watson didn’t ingratiate himself to the fans there when he said the only reason was playing in the event was to make his sponsors happy.
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