Masters champion Bubba Watson, left, and Greenbrier owner Jim Justice stop for a picture during a press conference last fall announcing Watson’s association with The Greenbrier.
BECKLEY, W.Va. — It now takes both hands to count The Greenbrier’s green jackets.
Bubba Watson’s Masters win Sunday gave the White Sulphur Springs resort its 10th green jacket.
The late Sam Snead, The Greenbrier’s former pro and pro emeritus, won the Masters three times (1949, 1952 and 1954). Current pro emeritus Tom Watson won two (1977, 1981), and Greenbrier Sporting Club resident Nick Faldo, whose name is now on The Greenbrier’s golf instruction center, won three (1989, 1990 and 1996). Now “the other Watson” has a pair (2012 and 2014).
“That’s amazing when you think about it,” said Greenbrier owner Jim Justice, who watched nearly every second of Watson’s win Sunday, cheering for his close friend. “The Greenbrier transcends so far beyond any of us. The people that have walked the halls are unbelievable. To think about 10 green jackets in one place is unbelievable.”
Watson’s association with The Greenbrier is a fairly short one. The 35-year-old Florida native first visited the resort last June, coming a few days early to prepare for The Greenbrier Classic. He immediately fell in love with all the property had to offer — falconry, swimming, off-roading and, of course, golf — and almost immediately began looking for a place to build a home.
Soon, his land was selected, and in late August The Greenbrier and Watson announced a new partnership.
Since that time, Watson has displayed The Greenbrier logo on his Ping golf bag at every tournament, and he has become an ambassador for the resort, joining Tom Watson, Kenny Perry and Webb Simpson in that role.
The Greenbrier has renamed its back tees on The Old White TPC the “Bubba Tees,” giving golfers who break 90 from those tees a chance to enter a raffle to play a round with Watson.
“He really, really loves The Greenbrier and loves the people,” said Justice. “He plans to be here a lot. We’ve become really close friends, as he has with a lot of people here…