Watson’s win fends off thoughts of retirement

Bubba Watson says he was contemplating retirement.

The two-time Masters champion had gone two years without winning. He fell out of the top 100 in the world ranking for the first time in 10 years. He was losing power and losing confidence and it didn’t matter which colour golf ball he was using. Worst of all, he was losing weight from an illness he still doesn’t want to talk about.

He wound up sticking to golf. One week at Riviera was a reminder that “Bubba golf ” remains a bestseller.

Watson ended his longest drought of the decade with a game perfectly suited for the classic layout off Sunset Boulevard to score a two-shot victory in the Genesis Open that changes his outlook.

“The last year and a half, almost two years give or take, it’s been a struggle because I want to be at the top,” Watson said. “I was top 10 in the world for a few years and so not being there, you feel like, ‘Is this it? Is this my old man moment where I can’t play golf again?’”

He spoke Saturday about trending in the right direction even if he didn’t win, so the victory — by two strokes over Tony Finau and Kevin Na — is sure to be a jolt of confidence.

Was he really close to calling it quits?

“I was close,” he said. “My wife was not close. My wife basically told me to quit whining and play golf.”