Gerry Lester “Bubba” Watson

Like the way Bubba is playing. He finished second here at the Blue Monster last year. The 36 year old from Bagdad, Florida captures “the Donald” trophy at the Trump National Doral in Miami in preparation to defend his Masters title and go for his third green jacket a month from now. Bubba won in November at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shangai, China. So he has a WGC title already under his belt.

Weather looks good overall, but wind 10-20 MPH today and 10-15 MPH the rest of the weekend. AM showers Sunday, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Wind will be a factor though. Temperatures in the low 80’s.

 TV:  Golf Channel today and tomorrow from 1-6 PM ET/12-5 PM CT and Saturday and Sunday from 12-3 PM ET/11 AM-2 PM CT on Saturday and 1-3 PM ET/12-2 PM CT on Sunday. NBC takes over Saturday and Sunday with coverage from 3-6 PM ET/2-5 PM CT on Saturday and 3-7 PM ET/2-6 PM CT on Sunday.

Course: Approximately 7,510 yards, Par 72

Designer: Gil Hanse (redesign 2012)

Key Hole: No.18, the 489, Par 4 is the critical hole with a huge lake on the left so a draw puts you in the water and trees and some sand on the right. Incredibly difficult driving hole. Second shot to a tight green has the grandstands to the side and behind, rough and sand on the right and water on the left. Should be some serious drama on Sunday here. Doral was the third hardest course on tour in 2014 behind Pinehurst No.2 in the U.S. Open and Augusta National in the Masters. Patrick Reed won last year at -4. Bubba finished -3.