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Watch: Bubba Watson Hits (Another) Absurd Recovery Shot From Deep Within Pines at Masters

Watson's shot at the 18th hole on Friday called to mind a few memories from his first win in 2012.

Jeff Ritter

Watch: Bubba Watson Hits (Another) Absurd Recovery Shot From Deep Within Pines at Masters
Watch: Bubba Watson Hits (Another) Absurd Recovery Shot From Deep Within Pines at Masters /

AUGUSTA, Ga. – In case there was any doubt, Bubba Watson still knows how to create miraculous shots from the pines at Augusta National.

On Friday, he hit what he considers his best shot ever at Augusta. Even better than the one you're probably thinking of.

During Friday's second round, Watson hit his tee shot deep into the trees left of the 18th fairway. Standing atop the pine straw, Watson took a lash with an iron and launched his shot through the tree and onto the green. His ball hopped onto the putting surface and curled toward the hole, stopping about two feet short. A preposterous shot.

Of course anytime Watson enters the trees at Augusta National, it conjures memories of his victory in 2012, when he hooked a gap wedge off the pine straw right of the 10th fairway and onto the green, setting up a par, a sudden-death victory and the first of his two green jackets. 

That shot landed him on the cover of a certain magazine. 

Bubba-SI-Cover

But after he strolled off the 18th green with an unlikely birdie on Friday, Watson said his most recent pine shot stands above all others.

"I'll be honest, not that you want to know, but that was the best shot I've ever hit at Augusta National, that one right there," Watson said. "How far did we have? You figured up. I didn't carry the distance. So 183 with adjustment. My ball was (sitting) two inches in the air.

"So, I had a gap way up in the trees. I was like, 'I'm going to hit wedge as hard as I can.' Then it went to a foot, so worked out."

Friday's escape shot may not be similarly immortalized as his jacket-winning shot in 2012, but it should help Watson make the cut. He signed for a 73, and at 3-over for the event, he's safely inside the cutline to play the weekend. 

More Day 2 Masters Coverage on Morning Read:

- Round 2 Real-Time Updates 
- Watch: Bubba Watson Hits Another Absurd Escape Shot From Pine Trees
- Tiger Opens with Bogey, Continues Slow Start
- Oosthuizen WDs Before Second Round, Tiger Woods' Group Now a Twosome

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Jeff Ritter
JEFF RITTER

Jeff Ritter is the managing director of SI Golf. He has more than 20 years of sports media experience, and previously was the general manager at the Morning Read, where he led that business's growth and joined SI as part of an acquisition in 2022. Earlier in his career he spent more than a decade at SI and Golf Magazine, and his journalism awards include a MIN Magazine Award and an Edward R. Murrow Award for sports reporting. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

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