I first noticed Bubba Watson's re-emergence from a hellish 2017 a few weeks ago when he popped on the leaderboard momentarily after a 67-69 start at the Waste Management Phoenix Open where he went on to finish T40. I wasn't stunned, but I was mildly surprised. 

Watson had just six top 10s in 2016-18 in over 40 events following his last win at this tournament in 2016 and saw his ranking plummet to No. 117 coming into the Genesis Open. His health was a question mark over the last year as he lost a noticeable amount of weight. He is nearly 40 years old and has made nearly $40 million in his career. It would be incredibly easy to pack it in after a couple of bad runs and count cash for the rest of your life. Maybe even easier for Watson, who has admitted issues with social anxiety and clearly enjoys his time with his family.

So when he started bouncing up and down leaderboards in recent weeks, I certainly raised an eyebrow. Maybe it's the move away from the preposterous golf balls he was playing in 2017, I thought. Maybe one bad year and a split with some questionable equipment are enough to motive a man back to the top. Maybe he was really sick last year when he looked, at times, skinnier than his golf clubs. Or maybe it was an anomaly. Maybe it was nothing. 

Turns out, it wasn't nothing. Watson proved that with his third takedown of Riviera Country Club at the Genesis Open as he beat Tony Finau and Kevin Na by two strokes each. He was brilliant throughout and closed the weekend with an 8-under 134 in Rounds 3 and 4 with several monster names breathing down his neck.

He cried afterwards, as he normally does. Then he unloaded on the last couple of years.

"From that downfall of the letdown of not making the (2016 Ryder Cup) team and then to get sick, to lose all this weight, just family drama of my son starting school, my wife having surgery, five screws and a small plate in her leg, just all these things added in, never knowing if you're going to make it again," Watson said. 

"You don't know. We can't predict what health is going to come around the corner or what's going to happen around the corner. So you never know if that was going to be the last time. You don't want it to be because I'm an athlete, I want it to keep going. The emotion was just that, like 'wow, I still have a chance in this game.'

"I was close (to retiring). My wife was not close. My wife basically told me to quit whining and play golf. She's a lot tougher than I am. I get a paper cut and I'm out for a week or so. So yeah, for me it was tough. I would rather be healthy than play golf, so that's what I was focusing on, and I was focusing on the wrong things. Pitiful me and not how beautiful my life was, things like that. So that's the short answer for all that. All the emotion and everything."

Watson was asked to elaborate on the health issues and weight loss, but he declined.

"No, I had some issue, some medical issues, but nothing -- I mean nothing worse than a paper cut, you know? It was nothing, it's nothing," he said. 

Q. Anything you can -- 

Watson: "Nope."

Q. -- choose to -- 

Watson: "Nope."

But he continued later on.

"Oh, I was at the lowest (last year). My whole life, I was probably at the lowest when it comes to golf. Not lowest in my life but lowest in the career of golf, yes. It was the lowest point I've ever been at in the game of golf. Every time I hit a bad shot, every time I missed a cut, every time I missed a putt. I'm a golfer so I complain a lot. No, there's not one point that sticks out, I can't pick out a point the whole year. The last year and a half, almost two years give or take it's been a struggle because I want to be at the top. 

"I was top-10 in the world for a few years there it feels like, and so not being there, you feel like, is this it, is this my old man moment where I can't play golf again, you know? Get up in the booth, I guess, talk about, oh, he missed that putt."

There's a lot to unpack there, but the primary takeaway for me is that it has been a long, strange couple of years for Watson. His health issues from 2017 remain a mystery, but clearly something ailed him physically or mentally. 

Here's a look at his Official World Golf Ranking from the 2016 Masters when he came in ranked No. 4 until last week when he was No. 117.

bubba-bounce-2-19-18.jpg

And now, after all that, he's pulled off one of the more impressive five-year runs at probably the best non-major golf course on the PGA Tour. Watson has three victories at Riviera in five years and joins an exclusive list with his trophy on Sunday.

The weekend was fascinating, too. Bubba is like Tiger Woods in that no matter what you think about him or whether you root for him, it's difficult to deny that his presence at the top of leaderboards is great for the sport. Watson's contention on Sunday reminded me of three distinct reasons this is true.

1. He's one of the few characters: Sports are built around human lightning rods. There is a reason everyone has an opinion of Bubba Watson, and it's not exclusively because he has 10 wins. It's also because he plays a pink driver, has a homemade swing, owns a candy shop and generally purports to be golf's everyman. Sometimes it feels real, sometimes it doesn't. But it always elicits a response.

2. Nobody is more creative: Correction here, Phil Mickelson is more creative around the greens, but with a driver or long iron in his hands, nobody paints like Bubba (not even you, Bryson). If you can't get into some Bubba TopTracer then it might be time to look into a different sports viewing experience.

3. Nobody (including him) knows what's going to happen: Literally everything was in play on Sunday. For all I knew, Watson was going to withdraw at the turn and go rebound 3-pointers for Steph Curry as he warmed up for the All-Star Game. Watson in contention on any course is must-see TV. Watson in contention with Mickelson, Fianu, Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas charging is absolutely riveting.

Now golf has yet another huge personality to throw into the amalgamation at Augusta National. Because let's be honest, most of the first part of the golf season serves as nothing more than directional signage down Magnolia Lane. Mickelson is lights out at the moment. Tiger is healthy. Jordan Spieth found his putter. Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas all look prepped. And Bubba is apparently Bubba again. That's going to make for a hell of a week in Georgia come the first of April.