Martin Kaymer and his scarf aren’t the only two things making a fashion splash this week at the Accenture Match Play.

Big hitting Bubba Watson took a big hit out of his bank account when he splurged for a half-million dollar watch he’s sporting on the golf course, Steve DiMeglio reported. The watch, made by Richard Mille, cost $525,000 and was made specifically for golf and for Mr. Watson.

It’s the same company that made the infamous watch Rafael Nadal wore during the French Open a year ago, and that puppy also cost upwards of $500,000. 

According to DiMeglio, Richard Mille will only make 38 of these watches, conveniently named the RM 038, and they will be available this summer, so if you win the lottery between now and bathing suit weather, or happen to own the Nets, lucky you! 

If not, you can just look at how pretty it is, and understand that Bubba’s golfing watch is worth more than anything you will ever own. Perspective! 

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It probably would have been easy to turn off golf early on Saturday morning. The matches were all out of hand, the leads were getting more and more pregnant, and the names moving on didn’t exactly ignite the loins.

But if you turned off golf, I’m sorry. I apologize because you missed the best golf of the year, for more of what was happening between the golf swings then anything. Bubba Watson overcame a 5-down deficit with eight holes to play to take out J.B. Holmes in the quarterfinals of the match play. His golf was incredible, don’t get me wrong, but that won’t be what anyone will be talking about this afternoon at the driving range.

That focus will be on the slowness of Holmes and the character of Watson, who continues to win fans from all walks of sports that don’t involve a dimpled ball.

First, we settle on Holmes. A man who can raise some eyebrows for his slow play seemed to creep at a turtles speed towards the end of the match, and that didn’t count DropGate on the 18th. A wayward drive with a 1-up lead, Holmes went pin-seeking with his second shot, only to have it find the desert and settle up under a bush. Done, right? Nope, not when there was a trickle sprinkler by his ball, allowing him a free drop. After the first drop, guess what was by his ball? Another trickle sprinkler, allowing him a second free drop, this time to a better lie and a chance at getting it on the green and putting for par. He missed, and the match went to the 19th hole.

Again, Holmes was in the desert, and again he was taking a drop, but it was Watson who was the character here. After finding his ball near a bush, Bubba exclaimed to the gallery, "Man that’s lucky, I can hit this left-handed," a poke at the fact that he is in fact a southpaw. Normally a point in the match where most guys would be clenched up, Bubba was smiling, and as he watched Holmes walk in the middle of the desert to find a good spot to drop his ball, he jokingly yelled at J.B., "Hey, text me!"

That didn’t stop Bubba from getting serious. As Holmes was looking at a spot to drop, Bubba and caddie ran after J.B. to point out that the area they were looking wasn’t the right spot, and that they needed to move further from the hole to get a legit drop.

It was an interesting glimpse into the differences of match play. Never would you see a guy caring what the other player was doing in a stroke play event, but Bubba was a factor in Holmes’ drop decision. He was letting him know that where he was looking was false, and that they needed to keep moving in a different direction.

As a Canadian friend of mine pointed out, "Golf needs more Bubbas. He has personality and he’s a competitor," which is right. We can all remember Watson smiling and joking, but it was the second shot that concluded with a tip of the hat that shows how much Bubba wants to win when he’s out there. He’s determined, he’s talented and he’s continuing to show us that he is one of the best in the world.

It was a strange match, but an entertaining one. Holmes dominated the front nine, Bubba the back, and then all the antics that made it incredible television. The guy that should have won did, and the guy that was lucky just to get in the tournament made for an easy target for fans to root against. 

It was exactly what golf needs in these type of tournaments, and it’ll be the talk of the week no matter who wins. 

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Martin Kaymer may have won his quarterfinal match over Miguel Angel Jimenez, 1-up, but it was his Cary Grant-esque scarf that made the biggest headlines.

With the temperatures dropping and the wind starting to pick up, Kaymer showed up for Saturday morning’s round sporting a scarf. Not a neck warmer or a wind jakcet, but a scarf. It was definitely a fashion statement from the Germanator.

It’s too bad he almost choked himself with the darn thing, nearly blowing a 4-up lead with four holes to play, before finishing off the match on the 18th hole.

The remaining top seed left in the tournament, Kaymer is playing for more than just a spot in the final when he plays Bubba Watson in a rematch of last year’s PGA Championship; he’ll also be playing for the top spot in the world golf rankings. Since Lee Westwood moved to the top of the mountain last season he’s struggled to make any noise, as Kaymer and a host of other players have moved ever closer to the Englishman.

Over the last couple of months, only Kaymer has looked like the legitimate heir to golf’s throne. A win already under his belt this year, he’s playing the best golf of his career at the right time. And assuming he gets the job done in the semifinals, he’ll be rewarded with a bulls-eye and the title of golf’s best player.

It’s been a long time coming for the German, but he’s finally getting the respect he deserves. People could debate whether Westwood, Kaymer or Woods was the top player in the world at the beginning of the season. But after the way Kaymer has played over the last few months, it’s clear who’s the most deserving of the top spot: it’s the guy who wears a scarf.

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When it comes to match play, I’m all in for more. I love the format, and think it would be great to see it played in higher events throughout the season. But, the problem is that will never happened, mainly because of Saturday morning at the Accenture Match Play.

Four quarterfinal matches before the field was trimmed to just four golfers, and all four were basically blowouts. It’s the reason that match play can fail at times. Like Louis Oosthuizen‘s win at the British Open a year ago, when there is no chance for a comeback, the passion dries up.

That isn’t to say that some of the matches didn’t give us drama. JB Holmes was five-up on Bubba Watson with eight holes to play, but the big-hitting lefty is making some waves, giving us at least a peaking interest in that otherwise bland match (the other interesting part of the match? Holmes hit a 413-yard drive on the second hole). 

But Saturday’s morning matches were the reason that television executives and advertisers wouldn’t be pumped for a match play major, or anything like that to end the year (like my suggestion that the FedEx Cup conclude with a match play format). Multiple matches this week have ended with someone winning 8-up, which can’t happen if you want viewers to tune in, and when you don’t have the star power that previous Accenture events had late into the weekend, you are going to need some drama.

Sadly, the quarterfinals were drama-less, and if The Golf Channel-NBC want people to tune in this afternoon, and even Sunday, they’re going to need close matches. 

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Did you miss a story or two from the first week of the season here at Devil Ball? No sweat, we’ve got you covered. Here’s what graced our
(web)pages this week:

• It’s match play week, and we think there should be much, much more match play.

• On this week’s podcast: Bracketology! Plus free candy for everyone who listens! Maybe.

• Thanks for playing, Ian Poulter. 

• Could Vijay Singh come back after all? Signs point to…maybe.

• What were you doing when you were a 16-year-old girl? If you can’t answer "winning a men’s tournament," Lexi Thompson has you beat.

• Robert Coles had a chance at winning his first European Tour event, but five-putted from 25 feet to give it away. Agh.

• The PGA Tour’s Ty Votaw stopped by for a little promotion of the FedEx Cup.

• Which of the non-majors is the best non-major? We debate, we discuss, we disagree.

• Yes, Tiger Woods lost again. And we’re pretty much done with reporting that every week. At least until next week. Drives ya nuts, doesn’t it?

• And finally, David Feherty gives it up for the kids … and gets it back, right in the jewels.

Keep up with Devil Ball Golf via Facebook right here and via Twitter at @jaybusbee. Get to it!

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If there’s one thing all golfers need to have, if they want to be successful, it’s a short memory. Make a triple bogey on the previous hole? You need to find some way to forget that big number when you get to the next tee.

That’s a big reason why the pros are so good at what they do; they always seem to be able to erase bad memories in a matter of minutes. However, not all memories can be easily erased from the memory bank.

While Hunter Mahan may say he’s moved on from last year’s stubbed chip on the 17th hole of Ryder Cup, it’s clear the moment is still camping out in the back of his mind.

Standing over another critical chip on the 17th hole of Friday’s match with Martin Kaymer, Mahan replicated his Ryder Cup blunder, stubbing his chip a few yards in front of him and losing the match, 2 & 1.

You have to feel for the guy. After watching him break down at the Ryder Cup post-round press conference last year, it was clear he felt terrible about not being able to capitalize on the chance to be a hero. It’s not fair to say the moment has ruined his ability to close out tournaments, because Mahan has been a clutch performer in the past, but the way he crumbled down the stretch on Friday — going 2-up with six holes to play, and then losing four of the next five holes — makes you wonder if the pressure-packed moments are starting to get to him.

Let’s hope that’s not the case. Hopefully Mahan finds some confidence in the near future, because you hate to see this sort of thing happen to the guy on two separate occasions. Maybe a weekend spent relaxing and spending time with his wife, who happens to be a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, will clear his mind and allow him to come back strong in the coming weeks.

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