Bubba Watson Wins the 2014 WGC-HSBC Champions

After a final round that saw several players come within a shot of the lead over the last few holes, the 2014 HSBC Champions at Sheshan Golf Club (Shanghai) is now over and the winner this year is Bubba Watson, after a one hole playoff battle between South African Tim Clark and himself. The two of them finished the tournament at 11-under (-11) but on their first playoff hole, a birdie by Watson and a par by Clark decided it. With this win, Bubba now moves up to 7th on the World Golf Rankings. He would of taken home valuable European Tour playoff points as well, had he been a member of the European Tour.

Things weren't looking good for Bubba after going bogey, double bogey on the 16th and 17th holes. On the 18th hole, he found himself in a bunker on the par 5, about 60 yards away from the green, going for eagle. He hit his sand shot and watched in land on the green and roll into the hole, catapulting him back into the tournament by putting him at 11-under, much to everyone's surprise.

It was really anyone's tournament up until the last few holes. With Bubba and Clark both in earlier at 11-under, the last hole saw chances by Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, and Hiroshi Iwata to join this playoff (I thought for sure one of my picks would win it!). Both GMac and Iwata had birdie putts that would have done just that, but both missed. Sunday got the best of McDowell again as he unfortunately finished over par once again, despite holding the lead going into the weekend. For Iwata, a win this week would have been huge for his career, as a WGC win makes a player eligible for a variety of things such as tour cards and major eligibility.

On the other hand, Kaymer's tournament finished abruptly on the par 5 18th hole. After laying up, Kaymer hit a good shot that landed right of the green and unfortunately rolled into the water, ending his chances at a playoff.

Oddly enough, McDowell and Kaymer still benefited points-wise from the tournament. McDowell finished T3 but all of the players ahead of and tied with him are not European Tour members, thus the Race to Dubai playoff points they won mean nothing. So in the end, GMac ends up winning the most points at the end of the week, which is a big bonus with only two more events to go. Kaymer finishing T6 takes home the second most points, along with the people he is tied with. GMac and Kaymer are now ranked 9th and 10th in the Race to Dubai points list, respectively.

Finally, here is how our picks finished the tournament:

1) Graeme McDowell: T3 at 10-under (-10)
2) Martin Kaymer: T6 at 8-under (-8)
3) Adam Scott: T12 at 5-under (-5)

Good finishes all round, however one again GMac comes up short at this tournament. I think he'll win a WGC soon enough though.

Next week is the second last European Tour playoff event, the Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya, Turkey, so stay tuned for our coverage of that.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Bubba holes out for eagle on the 18th hole at the 2014 HSBC Champions