Congratulations to Bubba Watson, winner of the 2012 Masters tournament and latest member into the exclusive “green jacket” club. As I mentioned in my post the other day, I was rooting for Bubba but didn’t think he had the short game needed to win at Augusta National. Turns I was wrong, and I’m happy to be so.

Once again Augusta National put on a tournament worth every bit of the hype that lead up to it, just as it does every year. I can’t think of any other sporting event that lives up to its hype: the Super Bowl may be unequalled in the hype leading up to it, but all too often it ends up just being another football game. The NBA Finals, World Series, and Stanley Cup finals often seem as if they go on forever. But every April, the Masters always delivers – not just because of the names that play there and the exquisite beauty of the venue, but the way Augusta National’s design allows the kind of risk/reward play that virtaully guarantees suspense and excellence as the golfers make the turn on Sunday afternoon.

It’s great to see a golfer with a unique, home-made swing like Watson compete so successfully on the world stage. Too many of today’s golfers have the same swing and demeanor, as if they came from the same professional golfer pre-fab factory. Watson, like fellow lefty Phil Mickelson, loves to take risks and lay it all out, come hell or high water. It’s refreshing to see, and Bubba’s popularity is about to go into the stratosphere. Deservedly so.

It’s just a shame after a weekend like this that there has to be a loser, but congrats still have to go out to South African Louis Oosthuizen, who put on a great display, including an incredible double eagle on the par 5 second hole. He deserved as much as Bubba to win, and while he doesn’t get his second major or a green jacket, his historic shot will be a staple of all the Masters highlights films in the future.