They don’t call him “Blubbering Bubba” for nothing. Bubba Watson can’t help but get teary-eyed whenever he drives up Magnolia Lane and touches down on the hallowed turf of Augusta National. For anyone looking to get into golf impressions, he is low hanging fruit for any beginners out there.
The two-time Masters champion wears his heart on the sleeve of each of his green jackets. Bubba’s Masters triumphs became famous for his waterworks after holing the winning putts. He’s not the first person to burst into tears and won’t be the last, heck, Rory McIlroy was in convulsions of tears nearly twelve months ago.
But Augusta National has this overwhelming grip on Bubba’s emotions. He famously burst into tears at his defending champion’s press conference in 2013 and was convinced that he would be a blubbering mess at the Champions Dinner. Those two hurdles are all ahead of McIlroy in just over a fortnight’s time and it may be a case of if you start crying, I’ll start crying.
“It’s going to be interesting at the Champions Dinner, we haven’t really seen him cry much on camera,” the American tells Irish Golfer.
“People react differently inside that dinner when you see those faces and it will be interesting to see how he handles himself and how he speaks there but I think he will show some emotion no matter what in his words and what it means to be there.”
As for McIlroy’s career grand slam winning victory which gave him golfing immortality, Bubba won his first Masters in very dramatic circumstances but even one of golf’s great entertainers admits he was gobsmacked by the events of last year.
“It was wild! He put so much pressure on himself over the years to win it. It looked like it was going to happen again on 13 when so much pressure built up inside of him,” he recalls. “For him to pull it off and do it, any sportsman loves to see history, heroics, the story play out. For me as a golf fan it was really cool to see him win and finish it off. It was very cool for anybody who loves the game of golf. It was awesome for the game to get people watching and get people watching, it was phenomenal.”
There’s something about a Houdini-esque escape from the trees en route to winning at Augusta… Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy… It wouldn’t be Masters week without seeing Bubba’s famous recovery shot into the first playoff hole, the par-4 10th, against Louis Oosthuizen fourteen years ago. It remains one of the greatest shots ever played at the tournament.
It was an emotional time for Bubba, he and his wife Angie had adopted one month old Caleb in March of that year meaning they couldn’t join him for the biggest moment of his career. He got his scrapbook photo two years later with his family green side of the 72nd hole.
The 2012 Masters was another final round of golfing theatre. An Oosthuizen albatross on the 2nd kicked everything into gear but as we all know, for better or worse, the tournament doesn’t really begin until the back nine and for Bubba it was for the better as he made four birdies in a row from the 13th to force extra holes with the South African.
An emotional player, he admits that his head dropped when he pulled his tee shot on 10 into the trees, handing Oosthuizen the advantage and a likely playoff victory. Until he played THAT shot.
“In ’12 we had just adopted our first child Caleb so when I got there it wasn’t really about golf it was about the enjoyment of life after what had happened to us as a family,” explains Bubba after he and his wife were unable to have a child naturally. ‘I was playing well, I won earlier before that and played well in Miami and Bay Hill so I was in good form. My wife let me go up to Augusta a little earlier than usual, got there Friday night and had more time to rest, sleep and practice. Everyday when I was done I was so focused on my phone trying to see videos and pictures of my family.
“So when I played it really wasn’t about the good play or mistakes I was just enjoying the game of golf. I was talking to Ted [Scott] about life so it was interesting. Golf was the furthest thing from my mind. Then on Sunday, Louis makes the albatross on 2 and I made birdie so I was down by four. At that time me and Teddy started talking about a top-10 or top-5 and maybe we can catch Louis if I can stay in there so that’s when golf started hitting us.
“Coming to the back nine I was still right there and I birdied 13, 14, 15 and we weren’t really talking about winning or anything. I made a 12-footer on 16 I raised the putter, when we were walking to 17 I said we have a chance to win the tournament we’re tied for the lead and Teddy said ‘yeah I know!’ That was the first time I was ever conscious of what was going on in the moment. I took my mind off what I was trying to do, I forgot what I was doing and thought about other things. I got back into the game then on 17 to make par.
“When I got in the playoff, no matter what I was so happy to have come second in the Masters. I would be good friends with Louis so it was challenging. When I hit the shot on 10 I knew it was in the trees and my shoulders dropped and I thought I had blown another chance to win a major because in 2010 I did that at the PGA Championship, losing in a playoff.
“I knew a par would get me to the next hole and when I knew there was only one shot and it gave me the window that I needed and the opportunity. The wind and energy were all in my favour I had the adrenaline to pull the shot off.
“Me and Teddy talked about it, it was 134 to the front and 165 to the hole so my normal gap wedge is 135. Under pressure hooking it will make it go further and under the adrenaline it will go even further so we guessed altogether ten yards so centre of the green was do-able. When I came out of the crowd I asked Teddy where the ball was and I just saw it at the flag, we were never thinking about hitting it that close! The shot, the lie, the wind, the clear trees, everything was in my favour at that moment.”
Nobody has successfully defended the Green Jacket since Tiger Woods in 2002, McIlroy will be the next to have a crack at creating a bit more history. Bubba managed to grab two wins in three years at Augusta but amazingly only has one more top-10, a share of 5th place in 2018.
He has been open about his struggles with ADHD and anxiety throughout his golfing career so perhaps that explains two wins and three top-5s in 57 major appearances. But he is still someone who in his pomp could strike at any moment. One of the true aristocrats and creators of the game, who never had a golf lesson, he brought equal levels of flamboyancy and chaos to tournaments.
Now at 47, the long black locks are gone, but his capacity to entertain remains. He logs on to this zoom interview with a bold pink Rangegoats bucket hat. The free spirit still burns within him. As does his belief that he can win a third major Masters title.
Pádraig Harrington still has a burning passion and desire to get himself into the thick of one more back nine at a major championship while Phil Mickelson won the 2021 PGA Championship aged 50 – the oldest major winner ever.
“You always hope you do,” he says when asked if he could fly the flag for the elder statesmen at Augusta. “As a sportsman you always believe you do. I believe there is an opportunity. When you think of Jack Nicklaus for him to come down the stretch and make those putts, it’s going to come down to making the putts, staying focused and really it’s more about energy levels. How do you sleep at night, things in your life?
“These young guys don’t have families, Scottie has kids and he is seeing life a little differently so that’s what it comes down to now and everything goes your way. That shot in 2012 went my way, golf was great for a lot of people that week but I got one more break than Louis.”
Bubba showed that he can still mix it with the best when finishing 14th in the Masters last year and that has given him some more belief that he can give himself a chance at a Masters hat trick and join Nick Faldo, Phil Mickelson, Sam Snead, Gary Player and Jimmy Demaret on three green jackets.
“Finishing 14th last year gave me some hope, gave me some excitement, helped me finish out the year last year. I still believe I can hit the shots. I still hit it far enough, I’m putting better. Deep down I still believe I have a chance to win, but it’s going to take a lot more than it would have when I was like 30, just with energy levels and other parts of my life being easier.”
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