For a professional athlete competing at the highest level, Bubba Watson made an extraordinary admission on Sunday evening at Riviera Country Club.
He has fears. Lots of them.
He said he doesn’t like crowds. He is unnerved by people yelling at him. He doesn’t like to be touched. He said his shirt doesn’t always feel right the way it hangs on his body.
Sometimes, he said, “I want to go and hide.”
As for playing golf: “I see a shot and I try to hit it. I’m scared to death on most of them, but I try to hit it anyway.”
Watson picked one heck of a profession to avoid intense scrutiny, but there is something about the game that also seemingly forces him to overcome everything of which he is afraid, and he did so once again with his usual flair in the final round of the Northern Trust Open.
His lead at the outset gone by the seventh hole, and trailing by two with four holes to play, Watson drew on whatever power he had from eight previous tour victories and two Masters triumphs.
He birdied the 16th and 17th holes, and then watched Jason Kokrak — the winless, tenacious player who wouldn’t fade away — burn the edge of the cup on a 15-foot birdie putt at 18 that would have forced a playoff.
For the second time in three years, Watson scaled the steep steps up the clubhouse as Riviera’s champion, winning with a final round of three-under-par 68 and total of 15-under 269 — the same score from his 2014 title effort.
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Bubba Watson cradles the winner’s trophy on the 18th green after rallying for a victory in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Sunday.
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Dakota Watson, who is 18 months old, romps on the 18th green as father Bubba Watson accepts the winner’s trophy for the Northern Trust Open.
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Bubba Watson waves to fans after hitting his approach at the 18th hole on Sunday during the final round of the Northern Trust Open.
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Bubba Watson walks ahead of Jason Kokrak toward the 18th fairway.
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Bubba Watson waves to fans after making a birdie on the 17th hole that put him in the lead of the Northern Trust Open on Sunday at Riviera Country Club.
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Bubba Watson slams a long drive during a round of 68 on Sunday to win the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club. He finished four rounds at 15 under par.
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Jason Kokrak falls to the ground after missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole that would’ve put him in a tie for the lead.
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Adam Scott hits from the trees surrounding the green on the 10th hole during the final round of the Northern Trust Open. Scott saved par on the hole.
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Fans receive high-fives from K.J. Choi as he walks to the 15th hole during the final round of the Northern Trust Open on Sunday at Riviera Country Club.
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Jason Kokrak blasts out of a greenside bunker at No. 16, helping him save par during the final round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Steve Stricker hits out of a fairway trap on the eighth hole during the final round of the Northern Trust Open on Sunday.
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Dustin Johnson hits a shot out of the rough at No. 8 during the final round of the Northern Trust Open on Sunday.
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K.J. Choi watches his drive on the par-three 14th hole during the final round of the Northern Trust Open on Sunday.
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Adam Scott watches his drive land on the green while on his way to a biridie at the sixth hole during the final round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Rory McIlroy puts at No. 1 during the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday at Riviera Country Club.
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Dustin Johnson lines up a putt on the eighth hole during the third orund of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday at Riviera Country Club.
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Bubba Watson tees off on the fourth hole Saturday during the third round of Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Chez Reavie hits from a bunker to the third green during the third round of the Northern Trust Open.
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Troy Merritt drives from the second tee during the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday.
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Hideki Matsuyama lines up a putt on the first hole during round the third round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Kevin Chappell tees off at No. 2 during the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday.
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K.J. Choi reacts after sinking a putt at No. 3 during the third round of the Northern Trust open on Saturday.
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Charl Schwartzel hits around a tree from the rough along the first fairway at Riviera Country Club on Saturday.
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Rory McIlroywatches his tee shot at No. 2 during the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday.
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Jason Kokrak takes his shot out of a fairway bunker on the seventh hole during the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday.
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Bubba Watson acknowledges the crowd after finishing the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday at Riviera Country Club.
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Spectators lean over the rope to watch Rory McIlroy hit out of the rough along the 18th fairway at Riviera Country Club on Friday during the second round of the Northern Trust Open.
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Jason Kokrak acknowledges the crowd Friday after finishing the 18th hole at Riviera Country Club. Kokrak leads the Northern Trust Open at 10 under par after a seven-under 64 on Friday.
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Chez Reavie reacts after sinking a birdie putt at No. 18 to finish the second round with a four-under-par 67. He’s in second place after two rounds of the Northern Trust Open at nine under.
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Bubba Watson hits a chip shot from the rough on the 17th hole during the second round of the Northern Trust Open.
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Justin Rose hits out of a sand trap at No. 9 on Friday during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot at No. 11 on Friday during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. McElroy is tied with seven others for seventh at six under.
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Bubba Watson tosses his putter after missing a birdie putt on the 12th hole during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday. Watson is tied for third at eight under after two rounds.
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Jason Kokrak hits his approach shot into the 18th green during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
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As afternoon shadows lengthen across Riviera Country Club, leader Jason Kokrak follows through on his approach shot into the 18th green during the second round of the Northern Trust Open on Friday.
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The kikuyu grass flies as Rory McIlroy hits out of the rough along the 12th fairway Friday during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Ernie Els hits out of a greenside bunker at the 10th hole during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
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Jason Kokrak hits a chip shot onto the 17th green during the second round of the Northern Trust Open on Friday.
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Justin Rose hits from under the branches of a tree at No. 10 on Friday during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Rory McIlroy hits from the rough at No. 10 during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
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James Hahn, the Northern Trust Open winner last year, hits out of a sand trap at the 10th hole during the second round of the Northern Trust Open on Friday. Hahn missed the cut at four over.
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An aerial view of Riviera Country Club, site of the Northern Trust Open golf tournament, taken from the MetLife blimp on Friday.
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Camilo Villegas tees off on the ninth hole during first round of the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
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Camilo Villegas reacts after sinking a birdie putt on the eighth hole during the first round of Northern Trust Open.
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Jordan Spieth prepares to tee off during the first round of the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
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Jordan Spieth chips onto a green during the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
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Rory McIlroy doffs his cap after finishing the first round of the Northern Trust Open golf tournament on Thursday at Riviera Country Club.
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Justin Thomas and his caddie line up a putt during the first round of the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
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Justin Thomas reacts after missing a putt during the first round of the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
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Fred Couples tees off during the first round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Thursday.
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Fred Couples fist-bumps Justin Thomas after both sank long birdie putts at the fifth hole during the first round of the Northern Trust Open.
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Bubba Watson tees off at No. 9 during the first round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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James Hahn, the 2015 winner, lines up a putt during the first round of Northern Trust Open on Thursday at Riviera Country Club.
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Justin Rose lines up a putt during the first round of the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Kokrak, with a closing 68, tied for second at 14 under with Adam Scott (67), who made a dramatic late run of his own with a routine birdie at 17 and a roar-inducing chip-in from 25 feet for birdie at 18.
The $1.22-million victory was the ninth of Watson’s PGA Tour career, giving him more wins since 2009 than anyone but Rory McIlroy, with 11. Watson passed Tiger Woods, who’s had eight in that stretch.
Watson also rose to No. 4 in the world rankings, passing his good friend Rickie Fowler.
Watson, 37, got a needling text from Fowler when the 27-year-old vaulted over him in the rankings with his January victory in the United Arab Emirates.
“So maybe I need to send him a text real fast next week before he passes me again,” Watson said.
For whatever reason, Watson has always played better from behind. Only two of his eight previous titles were won as the 54-hole front-runner, and though he led going into Sunday, he found himself playing catch-up on the back nine.
In a two-shot swing on the difficult par-four 13th hole, Watson bogeyed after missing the green from the middle of the fairway and Kokrak stuck a great second shot to four feet and made birdie.
But Kokrak three-putted for bogey at 15, and then Watson charged. He striped his tee shot to close range for birdie at the par-three 16th, and rifled a second-shot two-iron onto the green at the par-five 17th for a two-putt birdie.
“He played a great round of golf,” Kokrak, 30, said. “Handled himself very well and made a couple of nice putts on the back nine.”
It was an eventful week for Watson, on and off the course. Beyond the kidney stone he said he passed on Monday, he met the cast of the TV show “Girl Meets World” and attended the Clippers’ game Saturday night, where pop star Justin Bieber and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. were among the stars he chatted up.
Watson joked that meeting Bieber was bigger than winning the trophy, but in reality these victories and how he achieves them are truly personal outcomes.
“We’ve worked hard. I’m going to have mistakes,” Watson said. “I’m going to have setbacks and I’ve got to move forward from that, and that’s what we’ve been working on.
“These nine victories are all because of that. Nothing’s fell in my lap. I’ve had to work hard for all of them, and it’s my mind-set [being] in the right spot.”
Fear lost again.
