Bubba Watson Names 5 Golfers He Can’t STAND

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Bubba Watson could not stand these five golfers. And what you are about to hear is not locker room gossip or social media rumors. These are real PGA Tour moments that happened on camera, in scoring tents, and in front of millions of viewers. The two time Masters champion built a reputation over the years that made him one of the least liked players on Tour. And these five situations show exactly why that happened.
These feuds are not all the same. Some exploded on the golf course during tournament rounds. Others played out on social media where younger players called him out publicly. A few came from decades of shared history going back to college. And one involves the biggest legacy debate in modern golf. But there is a pattern here. The same personality trait keeps showing up over and over again.

is near and dear to my heart because I believe that this city made me who I am. >> As his career progressed, I think he started to realize that achievements on the course really weren’t the most important thing to him. >> To see that packed house like that, um, obviously my wife played professional basketball, so to see where it is now, I mean, that was early 2000s. >> Bubba Watson could not stand these five golfers. And what you are about to hear is not locker room gossip or social media rumors. These are real PGA tour moments that happened on camera, in scoring tens, and in front of millions of viewers. The twotime Masters champion built a reputation over the years that made him one of the least liked players on tour. And these five situations show exactly why that happened. These feuds are not all the same. Some exploded on the golf course during tournament rounds. Others played out on social media where younger players called him out publicly. A few came from decades of shared history going back to college. And one involves the biggest legacy debate in modern golf. But there is a pattern here. The same personality trait keeps showing up over and over again. The first name on this list is Steve Elkington. And this is where the blueprint for Bubba Watson’s reputation was created. It was the 2008 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Watson was still a young player trying to make his mark. Elkington was a veteran with 20 years on tour and a PGA Championship title. The hierarchy of professional golf is usually unspoken, but everyone understands it. Younger players show respect to the champions who came before them. But during the second round at TPC Louisiana, that hierarchy exploded. Watson was addressing his approach shot on the 10th hole. He looked up and saw Elkington walking ahead in the fairway. For Watson, who has sensory sensitivities that several peers have linked to ADHD like traits, any movement in his peripheral vision is a major distraction. He did not stay quiet about it. Watson shouted expletives directly at Elkington. The Golf Channel microphones caught every word and broadcast it to a national audience. This was not just a breach of golf etiquette. It was a younger player verbally attacking a major champion on live television. The tension did not end on the course. After the round, the real drama happened in the scoring tent. In professional golf, players verify their scores in a specific area. One player refusing to sign another player’s card can lead to disqualification. Elkington was furious about the verbal abuse he had received. He initially refused to sign Watson’s scorecard. The scoring area at TPC Louisiana was an all glass enclosure. Eight camera crews and dozens of reporters watched through the windows as tour official Arvin Gin tried to calm what observers described as a redneck rampage. Watson eventually apologized publicly. He said he made a bad decision and admitted he was prone to getting a little angry, but the damage to his reputation was permanent. There is one detail about this incident that rarely gets discussed. Watson is left-handed. That means his playing partners and caddies need to stand in different spots than they would for right-handed players. The visual geometry is essentially mirrored. Elkington, after decades of playing with righties, may have been standing in what was essentially Watson’s danger zone without realizing it. But Watson failed to interpret the movement as accidental. He reacted with immediate anger instead of understanding. And years later, Elkington confirmed the feud was far from over. In 2013, after Watson was seen berating his caddyy Ted Scott on television, Elkington mocked him on Twitter. He made fun of Watson’s toughness and the way he buttoned his shirt to the top. The Zurich Classic was not just one bad day. It fractured their relationship permanently. The second golfer is Kevin Naw, and this situation revealed a different side of Watson’s reputation. Instead of an explosion of anger, this was an implosion of competitive spirit. The 2019 WGC Dell Technologies match play was supposed to be Watson’s chance to defend his title. In the first round Robin match, he faced Naw at Austin Country Club. Watson is known for overpowering golf courses with his distance. He held a two-up lead with only six holes to play, but match play requires mental stamina that Watson seemed to lack as the pressure mounted. Naw won three straight holes and took a one-up lead. Watson managed to tie the match in the 16th hole, but on 18, everything fell apart. Watson hit a superior T-shot that nearly reached the green. It landed in a greenside bunker, but he still had the advantage. Na played conservatively. He laid up and hit his second shot to within 10 ft. Watson now needed an up and down from the bunker to have any chance. His first shot failed to clear the lip. His second shot also stayed in the bunker. And then Watson did something that shocked everyone watching. He reached down and picked up his moving ball. He conceded the hole in the match to nay right there. Nick Faldo was commentating for the golf channel. He could not believe what he was seeing. Faldo said Watson was in his pocket, which means a player has completely given up on a hole. But Watson had started with the advantage off the tea. The concession looked like quitting in the middle of competition. This was not about anger or aggression. This was about Watson’s emotional fragility under pressure, and it reinforced the idea that he was difficult to play with. Watson and Na have been linked together in anonymous player polls for years. The question is usually, which one is more difficult to play with? Na has a reputation for slow play and walking in his putts, but Watson’s reputation is built on emotional unpredictability. The 2019 concession was a physical example of that volatility. When things went wrong, he did not fight through it. He just picked up the ball and walked away. So, let me ask you this. Do you think conceding mid hole in a professional tournament crosses a line? Or is it just a player knowing when he is beaten? Drop your answer in the comments below. And if you want more stories like this about the personalities behind professional golf, hit that subscribe button right now. The third golfer is Grayson Murray. And this feud played out entirely on social media. In 2017, Murray responded to complaints about Watson’s oncourse attitude. Murray is known for being unfiltered online. He does not follow the unspoken locker room code that usually protects high-profile players. And he told Watson to look in the mirror if he wanted to understand why he was getting so much backlash from fans and peers. That phrase hit hard because it challenged Watson’s public image. Watson often talks about his religious faith and personal growth, but Murray was saying that Watson needed to examine his own behavior instead of blaming others, and he was right about the backlash. Peer polls at the time consistently ranked Watson as the least popular player on tour. One survey said that 23% of his peers would not help Watson in a fight. Murray was not making this up. He was saying out loud what other players were thinking privately. The Murray exchange highlighted a generational divide. Watson had always relied on apologies issued through official channels for explaining away his behavior as a bad joke. But Murray used the same digital tools that Watson used for personal branding. And younger players like Murray were willing to break the traditional silence that protected established stars. Watson’s two Masters titles did not shield him from criticism of his daily conduct anymore. Past achievements no longer mattered if your current behavior was consistently problematic. The fourth golfer is Kevin Knissner. And this relationship proves that Watson’s reputation goes back further than most people realize. Both Watson and Kissner played together at the University of Georgia in the early 2000s. They were teammates during a successful period for the Bulldogs golf program. But even in that close college environment, Watson was seen as an outlier. Kizner has said in interviews that Watson’s personality was a lot to handle even back then. This is important because it shows the traits that bother his professional peers were present long before he reached the PGA tour. Watson and Ker are often grouped together in the media as Georgia boys. Other alumni from the program usually show a tight bond, but the relationship between Watson and Ker has always been professionally distant. Knisser’s comment about Watson being a lot to handle is one of the rare on the record confirmations of what gets said in anonymous player polls and the competitive history between them only made things worse. At the 2018 WGC Dell Technologies match play, Watson and Ker faced each other in the championship match. Watson dominated the match and won seven and six. It was a professional triumph for him, but the narrative around the event focused on the lack of warmth between the two competitors. Kizner is widely seen as one of the most popular and relatable figures on tour. The contrast with Watson’s difficult reputation was obvious. Kizner represents the everyman golfer who connects with fans and peers. Watson represents the talented outsider who never quite fits in, and their shared history at Georgia makes that distance even more noticeable. The fifth and most recent controversy involves Tiger Woods. But Watson never had a direct feud with Tiger on the course. Instead, this friction comes from a statement Watson made that angered fans and players across the entire golf world. In early 2025, Watson claimed that Scotty Sheffller’s 2024 season was better than Tiger Woods’s legendary 2000 season. Let that sink in for a moment. Tiger’s 2000 season is considered the pinnacle of individual dominance in golf history. He won nine times that year, including three majors. He completed the Tiger Slam. He won the US Open by 15 shots and the Open Championship by eight shots. These were historic margins that no one had ever seen before. And Watson said Scotty Sheffller’s 2024 was better. Watson’s argument was that the modern field is more talented than the field Tiger faced. He said that with all the talent around the world now playing, Scotty’s year was the best we have ever seen. Sheffller had seven wins and one major in 2024. That is an excellent season, but comparing it to Tiger’s 2000 is seen by most people as completely delusional. Watson was either being intentionally provocative or he genuinely lacks historical perspective. There is a key detail here that explains why Watson might have made this claim. Ted Scott was Watson’s caddy for both of his master’s victories in 2012 and 2014. Scott now works for Scotty Sheffler. Watson has said that the friendship and bond between Sheffller and Scott helped turn Scotty from a great player into an elite one. So, by praising Sheffller’s 2024 season as the best ever, Watson is indirectly validating his own legacy and the skill of his former caddy. But the cost was alienating everyone who views Tiger’s 2000 season as untouchable. And that is basically the entire golf world. This was not a fight with Tiger himself. Tiger did not respond to Watson’s comments, but it was a disrespect of the sport’s ultimate standard. Watson challenged a legacy that even his peers consider sacred, and it reinforced the pattern. Watson says things that cross lines other players would never approach. Whether it is shouting at veterans, quitting mid-hole, getting called out on social media, maintaining distance from college teammates, or diminishing Tigers achievements, the same behavioral issues keep appearing. So, what ties all five of these situations together? It is not just bad luck or misunderstandings. There is a consistent pattern of emotional volatility and defensive reactions that lead to public fallout. The Zurich classic showed Watson’s inability to control his anger even toward respected veterans. The Kevin Nawat showed his fragility when things go wrong. The Grayson Murray exchange showed how his behavior created enemies among younger players. The Kevin Kner relationship proved this has been happening since college. And the Tiger Woods comment showed he is willing to challenge even the most sacred legacies in golf. Watson’s reputation as one of the least liked players on tour did not come from one moment. It came from years of repeated incidents. Peers have consistently voted him as the player they would least want to help in a fight. They describe him as gruff in the clubhouse and difficult to be around. Some have noted that Watson may have neurode divergence like ADHD that affects how he processes distractions and emotions. Watson himself has admitted to being fiery and making bad decisions in competition. But professional golf values, emotional stability, and control. Watson’s inability to meet those standards created a cycle. He feels misunderstood and gets defensive that leads to more outbursts, and those outbursts further damage his relationships. Watson comes from Baghdad, Florida. He often calls himself a redneck and takes pride in his self-taught unconventional swing. That background is different from many of his peers who grew up in country clubs with professional coaching. This cultural divide shows up in how he communicates. He is loud, emotional, and unfiltered. That clashes with the polished mediatrained personas of modern golfers. The friction with players like Elkington and Kisner be seen as a clash between the outsider who forced his way to the top and the establishment that values different social rules. In 2022, Watson joined Elive Golf for a player who was consistently voted least popular, leaving the PGA Tour was possibly a professional escape. He no longer had to deal with daily clubhouse interactions with peers who did not like him. But the move to LIIV has not silenced the friction. His comments about Sheffller and Tiger prove that he is now a team captain for the Range Goats GC, which requires him to lead and manage other players. That is a sharp contrast to his reputation as a difficult teammate in RDER Cup and President’s Cup competitions. Watson is undeniably talented. He has two green jackets. He changed how people think about power golf and he has made efforts to apologize and improve as a person, but the friction never stopped. The pattern of behavior kept repeating throughout his career. And these five situations with Elkington, Na Murray, Hisner, and the Tiger Legacy debate show exactly why Bubba Watson became known as someone many golfers just could not stand. So, here’s my question for you. Was Bubba Watson misunderstood and unfairly judged, or was he genuinely difficult to deal with year after year? Let me know in the comments which one of these feuds changed your view of him the most. If you found this video interesting, hit that like button. Subscribe to the channel for more deep dives into the personalities and controversies that shape professional golf.