Andy DevaneyAt the International Series Morocco, Bubba Watson chose Friday to remind the field that golf balls, in the right hands, can still be made to behave like trained birds.
The two-time Masters champion fired a seven-under-par 66 at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam’s Red Course to join Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert at the top of the halfway leaderboard in Rabat.
The American’s round was the lowest of the day, a tidy piece of work around a course that does not exactly hand out compliments with the starter’s sheet. Watson reached 11-under-par 135 alongside Pavit, who signed for a three-under 70 after another late recovery.
Behind them, Korea’s Younghan Song sits one shot back after a 69, while the chasing pack has the pleasingly chaotic look of a weekend leaderboard that has not yet made up its mind.
Watson Finds The Old Shape In Morocco
There are rounds that sneak up on a tournament, and there are rounds that announce themselves with a bit of theatrical smoke. Watson’s 66 was much closer to the latter.
The 47-year-old captain of RangeGoats GC in LIV Golf hit 15 of 18 fairways, made eight birdies, dropped just one shot, and needed only 26 putts. On the Red Course, where the greens have enough subtle movement to make a caddie question his life choices, that is more than solid. It is properly dangerous.
Watson has not won since the Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour in June 2018, but this was not nostalgia dressed up as form. It was ball-striking with intent, putting with conviction, and the sort of left-handed invention that made him such an irresistible figure at his peak.
“Today was good. I made a few putts and just kept the round going. Waking up that early, you never really know how your body is going to feel, but I got into the right positions physically and gave myself chances,” said Watson.
“From there, it was just about making putts. My caddie read a lot of lines really well, and luckily, I trusted him and hit the ones he was seeing, so a few of them dropped.
“You have to be a strong ball striker. You can’t fake it around here. But on this golf course, the greens and the green complexes are the biggest challenge. They’re really good, but they’re also very difficult. Around here, the putter is key.”
That last line tells you plenty. At Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, the driver may draw the crowd’s eyes, but the putter decides whether the scorecard leaves the property smiling.
Pavit Recovers, Then Gets A Weekend With Bubba
Pavit Tangkamolprasert’s route to 11-under was rather less serene. Two bogeys in his opening eight holes left him one over for the day, which is not ideal when a Masters champion is somewhere behind you bending fairways into origami.
But Pavit has already shown a taste for late work this week. In the opening round, he closed with four birdies in his last four holes. On Friday, he again found something when it mattered, picking up shots at the 17th and 18th to return a three-under 70.
“It was a good comeback today. I didn’t start my round well, made some mistakes, but I still tried to keep it in the fairway and hit it in the right positions. I know that if I played to the same standard, I can make a comeback,” said the 37-year-old, a two-time champion on the Asian Tour.
“I think the turning point was the birdie on the ninth hole, which is a tough par three. I bogeyed on the easy par-five eighth, so the birdie on ninth was very important to gain some momentum.”
There is also a charming subplot brewing for the weekend. Pavit will now play alongside Watson, a player he remembers watching at the 2012 Thai Golf Championship at Amata Springs after missing the cut himself.
“I am excited about the weekend. It’s The International Series with top-quality players. Everyone has a chance to win, so I’m looking forward to play on the weekend,” said Pavit.
“I have some pictures of Bubba from back then when I saw him playing at Amata Spring when I was young. I like Bubba, I like how he drives the ball. He could really curve the ball.”
Golf does enjoy these little circles. One minute you are outside the ropes taking pictures. Years later, you are inside them, trying to beat the man in the frame.
The Chasers Are Close Enough To Be Annoying
The International Series Morocco leaderboard is not exactly short of menace.
Younghan Song is only one back at 10-under after a 69, while Australia’s Travis Smyth, the International Series Japan champion and current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, is at nine-under after a 70.
He is joined there by defending champion Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe, who carded a 67, and Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho, who added a 69 to continue his strong run of form.
At eight-under sit two Thai players with very real pedigree: Jazz Janewattananond, champion of the inaugural International Series Morocco, after a 67, and Suteepat Prateeptienchai, who signed for a 69.
That is not so much a chasing pack as a small committee of men capable of ruining someone’s weekend.
Royal Golf Dar Es Salam Is Asking Proper Questions
The Red Course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam has already shown its teeth. It is not merely long or awkward for the sake of it. It asks players to position the ball properly, to shape shots when required, and to think carefully once they reach the green complexes.
Watson’s comments were revealing because they cut through the usual post-round fog. This is not a layout where players can simply miss in the correct postcode and survive. The greens are good, difficult, and quietly brutal. Around them, touch matters. On them, nerve matters more.
That is why Watson’s 26 putts were so significant. The old Bubba artistry with the long clubs may attract the highlights, but his scoring on Friday was built on control, trust and a putter that finally seemed to be listening.
Morocco’s Home Interest Reaches The Weekend
Mehdi El Fakori was the only Moroccan player to make the cut, following rounds of 74 and 70.
For the home galleries, that gives the weekend a local thread as the tournament continues its fourth staging in Morocco. The US$2 million International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco is also the third leg of the elevated events on the Asian Tour, adding weight to a leaderboard already carrying several compelling names.
A Weekend Set Up Rather Nicely
By the halfway stage, the shape of the tournament is clear enough. Watson has the history, Pavit has the composure, Song has proximity, and the pack behind has enough quality to make any two-shot swing feel like a loud noise in a quiet room.
For Watson, the question is whether Friday was a flash of memory or the start of something sturdier. For Pavit, it is whether patience and positioning can hold off a player who still sees angles most golfers require a map and a strong drink to understand.
Either way, Rabat has itself a proper weekend. Bubba Watson is back near the top, the Red Course is not in a generous mood, and the leaderboard has just enough danger in it to keep everyone honest.
