Sean,
Its not just the position of his ball, but the
angle of his view, that matters. He was not hitting out square to the fairway, but rather on an angle, and that angle makes it look like he's further down than he actually was.
I offer as further evidence:
1. 420 yard drive? Really??
2. On this video, at approximately 1:30, you can see the scoreboard on the opposite side of the fairway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9UgFwmxfVA&feature=related3. In a previous post in this thread, Jeff Warne stated that he was standing next to that scoreboard, which was directly across from where Bubba was hitting and that the scoreboard was positioned at the beginning point of the MacKenzie Bunker.
4. On the same video, at about 49 seconds, you can see Bubba (all white hard to miss) and his caddy off to the edge waiting for Louis to hit. They are about even with the beginning point of the MacKenzie bunker. If his ball was further down, they would not have been waiting there.
5. On the same video, you can see (around 2:10) Louis waiting for Bubba to hit his ball at about the point where the MacKenzie Bunker begins; if Bubba was hitting from the middle of the bunker, Louis would have been waiting closer to the green.
6. After Bubba hits the ball, you can see (around 3:00) that he emerges onto the fairway easily 15 yards or so to the far side of the tv stand that was between him and the green. You can see from the video (around 45 seconds) that the TV stand was positioned somewhere around the mid-point of the MacKenzie Bunker.
7. In the photo that began this thread, you cannot see the tall tree that was in the opposite rough on a direct line with Bubba's aiming point. (See Golf World's photograph). In my version, I circled it so that it is clear.
8. The CBS broadcast indicated that his ball was 155 yards from the hole. The location I've circled is right at 155 yards.
9. What Kalen said.