CROMWELL, Conn. — Bubba Watson has won the Travelers Championship three times and cashed nearly $5 million in prize money at the tournament. He’s had so many memorable things happen to him at TPC River Highlands he might as well own the place.
Sunday’s final round, however, is a memory he’d like to erase.
Watson, who had a share of the 54-hole lead, was in position to win for a fourth time, tying Billy Casper for the most wins at the event. He shot 32 on the front nine and made the turn at 13-under par and had a one-shot lead early on the back nine.
Then all hell broke loose as Watson played his final four holes in 6-over par to finish 7-under par and in a stunning tie for 19th.
“Gosh, I’ve thrown up on myself before here,’’ Watson said. “With this wind, we saw it. The scores didn’t go too low. You see how difficult it is.’’
Watson came unglued after a bogey on 14 dropped him to 12-under and in a tie for the lead. He then pushed a 3-iron into the water on the short par-4 15th hole, took a drop, chunked a chip and took bogey to fall to 11-under.
“I just came out of it, pushed it, and I pushed it on a hole where you can’t push it,’’ he said. Then came a three-putt bogey on the par-3 16th and a double bogey on 17 and it was over.
Kramer Hickok, who lost to Harris English in an eight-hole playoff, was playing with a caddie working for him for the first time because his previous looper ditched him for Sungjae Im, believing that would be a more profitable bag.
Billy Spencer recently left Hickok for Im and Hickok hired William Lanier, who’d been working for Wesley Bryan before Bryan injured himself and is out for the year.
“Honestly, that gave me a lot of motivation to prove him wrong and say I’ve got what it takes,’’ Hickok told The Post. “That happens in golf. We fire caddies, caddies fire players.’’
When Kevin Kisner sank his birdie putt on the 72nd hole to get to 10-under par and tie for the clubhouse lead some 45 minutes before the lead pairing was to tee off, he was asked if he might stick around in case 10-under holds up as the winning score or a playoff, Kisner said he was headed to Detroit for the next PGA Tour event.
When asked what he would do if faced with a situation like Bryson DeChambeau, who recently flew home to Texas thinking he’d missed the cut at the Wells Fargo only to find out he’d made it and fly back, Kisner smiled and said he’d work it out.
“I’ve got a pretty good partner on the back of my shirt,’’ he said, referring to “Wheels Up,’’ the private jet service.
Kisner finished in a tie for fifth, his first top-10 finish since last November when he lost in a playoff at the RSM Classic.
Brooks Koepka, after shooting 65 on Sunday to finish at 10-under, was back to his familiar refrain (which irritates PGA Tour people) about how he can’t focus in “regular’’ PGA Tour events as much as he can at majors.
“I’m going to be flat-out honest,’’ he said. “I can’t focus. A major I get excited and I feel stuff on the first tee. I just struggle to do that in regular events. The focus and discipline is there in a major where it’s not here.”
“I think the majors are easier to win if you’re disciplined. Out here, I think there are a lot more guys that have the opportunity to win just the way it sets up.’’
Defending champion Dustin Johnson, whose winning score was 19-under par last year, finished in a tie for 25th at 6-under this week.