Much is made of the eccentric personality of Bubba Watson. So much so that it often overshadows some of his charitable endeavours. After his $US200,000 donation to the Travelers Championship’s charity, perhaps that perception might change.
Overnight, Australian time, tournament officials announced that Watson donated the large sum of money from his $US1.26 million payday for winning the Travelers, his third career victory in the event, to The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, the primary beneficiary of the tournament’s charitable efforts. The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is a Connecticut-based organisation founded by actor Paul Newman that aims to give children with serious illnesses an enjoyable camp experience. After Bubba’s donation, the Travelers will have donated $US2 million in 2018 for all of its charitable efforts (and $16 million in all since becoming the title sponsor of the event at TPC River Highlands in 2007).
Watson does sometimes rub his fellow tour players the wrong way – an ESPN player survey listed him as the player his fellow peers would least be likely to help out in a fight – but the 39-year-old just might be in the top-10 for most charitable players on the US PGA Tour. His “Drive to a Million” campaign, launched in 2013, has raised more than $US1.3 million for his selected charities, according to the PGA Tour charities. And he also supports The First Tee of Northwest Florida, Fresh Start, Birdies for the Brave and the Ronald McDonald House of Pensacola (Florida).
Bubba is the first player to have three victories on the US Tour in the 2017-’18 season, having also won the Genesis Open (an event he has also won three times, like the Travelers) and the WGC–Dell Match Play. His stellar play has earned him more than $US5 million in earnings through 15 events.
