LAS VEGAS – Bubba Watson’s tenure as a Volvik staffer proved brief.
Watson announced Tuesday at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open that his contract with the bright-ball manufacturer “is done.”
“I do not have a ball deal as we sit here today,” he said. “So I can play with whatever ball I want to.
“My deal was up, and so I’m … ball-free.”
Volvik announced in January, ahead of last season’s Tournament of Champions, that it had signed Watson to “a multi-year deal to play and endorse the company’s line of extreme performance golf balls.” But that multi-year deal ended up lasting less than 12 months.
Although unsigned, Watson will put a Titleist ball back in play this week. Before switching to Volvik, the two-time Masters champion played the ProV1x.
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“I’m just going to go back to what I grew up with,” he explained.
Watson recorded only two top-10 finishes in PGA Tour stroke-play events last season. He was 75th in the FedExCup points race when his 2016-17 campaign came to an end at the Dell Technologies in Boston.
“My goals are to be better than that,” he said. “It was a frustrating year when it came to the golf. It was a great year off the course, but a frustrating year [on it]. Hopefully I’ll improve that.”