Watson feels ‘confident’ for Masters after WGC title win

Bubba Watson re-affirmed his position as one of the favourites for the Masters by claiming his second victory in quick succession in the build up to the next week’s opening men’s major of the season.

The left-hander backed up his recent victory in the Genesis Open in Los Angles with an impressive success in the WGC - Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club in Texas.

Watson rounded off a great week’s golf in the head-to-head format with a thumping 7&6 win over fellow American Kevin Kisner after he’d earlier defeated world No 2 Justin Thomas in the semi-finals. Kisner beat former Scottish Open champion Alex Noren at the 19th in the other semi-final.

It was Watson’s second WGC title after his win in the 2014 HSBC Champions in China. He also becomes just the fifth player to win multiple WGCS and multiple majors. The 39-year-old won the Masters in both 2012 and 2014 and is heading back to Augusta National feeling good about his chances of claiming a third Green Jacket.

“I’m confident, obviously, having two wins,” he said. “So, if I miss the cut, I still have two wins to fall back on so far. But, yeah, when I get there, I’m going to look forward to it and hopefully I can get this focus and my putter rolling like it is.”

Noren finished third with a 5&3 over Thomas. “I’m very pleased with the way I played,” said the Swede. “It’s going to be nice to head to the Masters in really good form and I’m looking forward to it. I gained a lot of confidence from this week. Match play is tough because you’re trying your hardest on every shot and that’s a good warm-up for a major.”

Elsewhere, Ireland’s Paul Dunne finished joint-fifth behind Brice Garnett in the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, a PGA Tour event in the Dominican Republic, while US Ryder Cup vice captain Steve Stricker claimed his second Champions Tour triumph in three weeks with a three-stroke victory in the Rapiscan Systems Classic in Biloxi.

Meanwhile, the 2028 Ryder Cup will be staged at Hazeltine in Minnesota, where the US won the 2016 match. The announcement sees Hazeltine become the first American venue to host the event more than once.