Bubba wept.
Again.
Last year, Watson, the emotional Masters champion broke down after he tapped out a short par putt on No. 10 green to win his first major championship and again when he stood on the victor’s podium to be fitted with his green jacket.
Tuesday, Watson picked up where he left off when a reporter asked him, what was the most interesting thing he did in his green jacket after last year’s victory?
Watson revealed that the only thing he did was swaddle his newborn adopted son Caleb in the jacket after returning home to Florida. Otherwise, he said, it was stowed away in his closet “out of respect and honor for Augusta National.”
Watson had to stop in mid-sentence and sobbed for nearly a full minute. Finally, swigging from a water bottle he was able to regain his composure.
“Thanks for bringing this up,” Watson quipped, still wiping away tears. “That was the only thing I did with it. Wrapped up Caleb… . I didn’t do any of the funny antics I would normally do.”
For the rest of his interview session, Watson joked about his penchant for crying. But he managed to keep it together the rest of the way. Among the subjects he addressed:
On whether there should be a plaque where he hit his miraculous hook shot out of the woods on 10: “Who wouldn’t see a plaque that says ‘Bubba’ in the middle of the pinestraw. So, yeas, but I would never ask for a plaque. If I do it again this year then, yes, there should be a plaque… . The only plaque you need is the green jacket. There’s been a lot of heroic shots out here. That’s what makes this place so great.”
On how he’s playing now compared to this time last year: “My stats probably show that I was better last year but my mind, my physical, but my preparation is the same. I feel good; I feel confident. Obviously golf is a tough game. You can win the week before and miss the cut the next week and you can miss the cut and win the next week. We’ve seen that… . It’s a different year. I’m getting older, different conditions. I could miss the cut; I could win. You never know what happen.”
On chances of repeating (only Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods have): “Me as a competitor, as a believer in my game, yeah, I could see pulling it off. It wouldn’t shock me. I’d still cry, but it wouldn’t shock me.”
On goals this week: “I’m going out there and I want to make the cut first of all. I don’t want to have to sit around to have to give somebody the green jacket. I want to be playing on Sunday.”
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