Bubba Watson explains why he’s open to taking a non-playing role with LIV Golf

Doral, Fla. — Bubba Watson, the two-time Masters champion, played the role of non-playing captain for most of LIV Golf’s inaugural season. Last year, during the third event of the season at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey, Watson joined the upstart circuit as a non-playing captain, as he was recovering from a torn meniscus. Watson expressed his desire to be fully healthy before participating as a player in the 2023 LIV Golf season. In his 13 starts, Watson has achieved only three top-20 finishes in the highly competitive field of 48 players.

Despite his relatively short tenure as a playing captain, Watson is already considering transitioning back to a non-playing role for his team, RangeGoats GC.

“At some point in the future, I want to continue playing, but there will come a time when I step back,” Watson revealed before the LIV Golf Team Championship at Trump National Doral. “I will be the owner who shows up at the tournaments, cheering on the guys, and attracting a younger crowd of talented golfers. From the beginning, I told myself that if I’m not good enough, then let’s find someone better and put them in my place. I’ll happily support the team from the sidelines. I’ll watch you all play golf in the scorching heat from the comfort of an air-conditioned box.”

“I love playing golf and competing, but age will eventually catch up with me. Age always wins,” Watson added. “When that time comes, I hope my team will embrace it and welcome somebody younger, better, stronger, and faster.”

Watson finished the season in 36th place on the LIV points list, just eight spots and eight points away from the relegation zone. However, as a captain, Watson is guaranteed a spot for the next season. Throughout the season, Watson has been frank about his performance, acknowledging that he’s been the weakest link on his team, which includes individual season-long champion Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, and Thomas Pieters. At the Team Championship, captains face off in match play quarterfinals and semifinals. Despite Watson expressing his desire to continue playing, it doesn’t necessarily mean he wants to compete against other captains.

“Currently, the league requires captains to play against captains… Personally, I would prefer having the ability to select and choose. For example, I could have Talor face off against DJ, who has been performing well this year,” Watson explained. “That’s the one aspect of the league I wish we could change, so that we can create these types of matchups, similar to the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, where we can strategically position our players and choose their opponents.”

As the fourth team in the season-long standings, Watson’s RangeGoats have secured a bye for the quarterfinals on Friday and will have the opportunity to choose their opponents for Saturday. You can view the quarterfinal pairings and matches here.

This story originally appeared on GolfWeek.