As a general rule, guys named Bubba don’t worry about the potential of success going to their head. Guys named Bubba come from blue-collar families where mom works two jobs and dad labors in construction. Bubbas don’t concern themselves with experiencing an excess of limo rides, sponsorship dinners and autograph sessions, or overdosing on celebrity life because, well, how many times do you hear somebody say, “That Bubba just ain’t grounded”?
Except in the case of Bubba Watson. Because after winning the Masters in 2012, punctuated with a screaming guided missile of a hook shot out of the woods and leading the usual snooty acreage of Augusta National to explode with barking galleries, Watson’s feet didn’t touch earth again for a year.
Watson was relatively pedestrian again in 2013, and he knows why: “I was still celebrating my green jacket. If you had one, you would celebrate it for a year or two. So yeah, obviously I was going to have a hangover … a hangover from the green jacket.”
Two things have cleared: The fog in his head and the pecking order at this year’s Masters.
Watson, the former Georgia Bulldog, took control of Augusta’s back nine similar to the way he did two years ago. He strung together five consecutive birdies, shot a 68 for the day and took a three-stroke lead over John Senden after two rounds of the Masters.
Watson has bogeyed only two of 36 holes. He has hit 28 of 36 greens in regulation. This is the new Bubba, or maybe the really old Bubba, not the grip-it-and-rip-it pro, but the one who actually works on his game and brings an element of control, dare we say conservatism, to the course. Watson knew he had to change after he reflected on his 2013 season, when he had only three top-10 finishes in 21 events and was left off the Presidents Cup team.
“The team event was going on and I wasn’t there, and all of those things hit you,” he said. “You’re thinking you have the ability to do this. You have the ability to perform at a high level. You’ve done it before. Are you going to dedicate yourself? Are you going to practice? I had to learn how to work more efficiently. I just had to dedicate myself.”
The 2012 season was Watson’s nirvana. He won his first major in Augusta. The final round included four consecutive birdies on the back nine and a curving gap wedge blast out of the pines on the second-playoff hole. The shot still defies science.
His season included seven top-10 finishes and $4.666 million in golf earnings. He was on magazine covers and talk shows and was the darling of sponsors. He became one of the new faces of golf. So it seemed only appropriate he purchased the home owned by the previous face, Tiger Woods. The $2.2 million mansion in Isleworth was the only house in the neighborhood that came with an Escalade bumper protruding from a tree and a bent 3-iron with a Swedish woman’s fingerprints on it.
But Watson struggled last year, especially at the Masters. He didn’t handle being the center of attention well, from the Champions Dinner on Tuesday to the crowds that followed him during the week. He opened with a 75 and closed with a 77. His final score: 7 over — 17 strokes worse than the jacket year. He finished 50th.
Being a defending champion, Watson said, “drains you a lot more than you know. As soon as you win, you get a green jacket on you. Every sponsor that you have, every company you represent, they want a piece of your time.
“Yellow flags — I’ve seen enough of those. I really don’t want to sign too many more of those yellow flags. I think I’ve signed every single one since 2012. I flew to Ping. I talked to every worker there. Signed 5,000, 10,000 flags.”
OK. He overplayed the sympathy card.
Watson was paid a lot of money to fly to corporate events for handshakes and autographs. Celebrity life has made him a rich man. But can this be a difficult transition for someone who’s more accustomed to living in the shadows? Yes. This year’s trip to Augusta gave him a new appreciation for being relatively low profile. He enjoyed that Adam Scott was the focus at the Champions Dinner, and he could sit in the background and enjoy the stories.
Watson also changed his approach to the week. He played nine holes a day leading to Thursday’s first round, conserving his energy. He avoided media. He rented two houses — one for him and other for family. He had a strong first round, but didn’t want to get drunk on the attention, so when he returned to the house he kept the television off.
“I didn’t want to hear anything,” he said.
“I learned the game my way. I figured it out my way. So it just takes me a little bit longer with the mental focus and drive to get back to where I am today.”
The highlight of Watson’s second round was a 40-foot birdie putt that broke right to left. Watson said he had the benefit of watching playing partner Sergio Garcia chip along the same line the shot before. He also has worked on his putting and changed putters.
“After nine years of missing all of them, I’m starting to make a few,” he said.
More than a few. And on a day when another former champion, Phil Mickelson, circled the drain and missed the Masters cut for the first time since 1997, Watson returned to form. Let’s see if he handles success better this time around.
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