Bubs
After missing two cuts in a row, Masters champ Bubba Watson returned to the first page of the leaderboard, finishing tied for second at the Travelers Championship, where he won his maiden PGA Tour victory in 2010. Prior to the Memorial, Watson had finished T18 or better in his nine previous starts this season.
What’s next for the part-time* golfer?
A(nother) three-week break to take care of loose ends and spend time with his family in their gated community, of course.
“British Open,” said Watson after posting a second consecutive five-under 65 on Sunday when asked when we’d see him next.
“I got a lot of stuff to do at the new house. Buying a new house, got a lot of adoption stuff to do, got a lot of paperwork to go through with that. So I’ve got time off, got three weeks off now to hopefully get all that stuff done.”
Cool. He’s not the only guy who takes three weeks off between the Travelers and the Open. He also made the same scheduling decision last year pre-Masters glory. Well, actually, that’s not entirely true. In 2011 he played in French Open this week instead of the AT&T. Remember that debacle?
Have a good break, Bubs. I don’t blame you. I didn’t win the Masters and I’m pretty pooped from traveling (20 starts this year!). As a fellow independent contractor, I’d like a three-week vacation to recuperate before the Open Championship if I could, so enjoy your time with your family and sunning yourself by the pool or whatever it is Bubba likes to do.
*Joking re: “part-time” golfer. Bubba is an independent contractor and he can choose to play as little or as much as he’d like. Besides, he still has more starts than Tiger Woods! — though I should note that Tiger is playing this week at the AT&T National and the following at Greenbrier, so he’ll have the same number of starts going into the Open as Bubba: 12.
(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
Classy of Bubba to prioritize taking care of his son over playing golf. Unlike Tiger who was going out with 20 different women while his wife was taking care of their child – alone.
Am I the only one in the world who doesn’t get it with Bubba?
Bubba is my least favorite player on tour. A cocky guy with self-esteem issues. He acts like a jerk to reporters and seems generally unpleasant. Yes, Bubba we know you adopted a kid. We know you are a born again. We know you like to play up the red-neck image. Props to Christina Kim for calling him on his BS.
@JJ – right on, besides Tiger, Bubba is the only guy that I truly root against out there. I really don’t see him winning another one, I still can’t believe he won the Masters -surely he must be the worst putter ever to have won a major ?
Bubba=Phony. He is, as all top level tour golfers are, an independent contractor. Play when they want to and where they want to. I don’t like the guy either.
Like Rory, win the big one and start taking time off. A legacy can slip away as quickly as the media tells us one is in the making. There is only one chance to march through this life and the peak competitive years don’t last.
dude.. don’t waste your talent. Bubba can win 6 Majors before it’s said and done easy. I hope he does not turn into John Daly.
How do I get to six. Masters x 4.. PGA x 2. Get your head in the game you Panhandle Wonder Kid.. you could be a hall of famer
Bubba’s already 33. Six is not in the cards. I’ll be surprised if he gets another one but it’s certainly possible.
Will be very interesting to see how Bubba gets on at Royal Lytham. We’ve had so much rain recently if the sun comes out in the next fortnight the rough will be up to his knees!
Keep it on the fairway Bubba or miss another cut
BrianS, you are sooooo right about him being a bad putter. Sure, he hit an amazing shot when he needed it at the Masters, but that first putt looked suspect at best. If Louis doesn’t make bogey, then who knows how that thing turns out. Bottom line is: I don’t Bubba with a putter in his hands.
And yes, the phony redneck thing is annoying.
Glad to see I am not the only who thinks Bubba is fake.
This is the problem with the tour today. These guys are so soft. It is like nobody really wants the pressure of chasing Jack and Tiger. The guys at the bottom are still grinding to an extent (because they have to) but the top players could careless about trying to be the greatest player of all time.
Say what you want about Tiger’s personal life but the guy is fighting to break jacks record and that is compelling. Something is wrong the sport when Kevin Na drives a Lamborghini. The NBA has the same problem where marginally talented (in respect to the pro level) players are overpaid.
Hilarious. Just because Tiger screwed up his personal life, his fan base has to go around denigrating other golfers calling them a fake because Tiger fans are threatened of Bubba taking attention away from their idol Eldrick. And Tiger is still the biggest fake on the PGA Tour for what he did to his wife.
What is hilarious is that you bought into Bubba’s BS. Why does that not shock me? Hmmm….
Being someone who knows a few things about adoption, the first weeks/months are crucial to bonding with the infant. I’m glad to see that he is putting the time in to bond with his child. It is not the same as having your own child. So, kudos to Bubba for ignoring the naysayers and doing what is right for his family. Whether you like his personality, his religion, or whatever else or not, this is a family decision and I have the utmost respect for him in doing it.
Hard to tell what the real Bubba is like, but he’s certainly not well suited for the Era of Tweet. In the past some of his sillier comments would have stayed in the locker room, but now they end up on the home page of a hundred websites.
Hating Bubba is lazy. It’s easy to hate him because of his personal decsions, playing schedule, attitude, poor putting etc. But when you truly dig deep and think about him, he brings to the tour a uniqueness it lacks. He has a homemade swing. He works the ball better than anyone on tour, and he has no swing coach. I appreciate these old-school qualities from which the tour was built and are primarily lacking on today’s tour.
Yep I try to appreciate amazing golf talent. My favorite all-time golfer was Ben Hogan and he was notorious for being cold, aloof, and downright nasty if you pressed the wrong button. He had lots of valid reasons. That being said a lot of these guys bring criticism on themselves. Bubba in France, his stupid tweets and that effing video will not help his legacy. Work on playing top-level golf with class and dignity and you will go a long way.
Datou, well said. I know many players that are on the verge of their own card. None of these players will snub their nose at the game like Mr. Bubba. I will spend my energy rooting for the good guys.
Breaking news: Bubba is not the first golfer or the only golfer to take time off to spend time with their new born or adopted child.He just happened to be the one to tell the world his plans.For those Tiger centric haters, Woods did not play the weeks after his children birth also, he just did not advertise to the world his intentions.Golfers have no guaranteed contract, so it is their business and not ours if they choose to not play.The fans need to get over themselves and enjoy watching the golfers who tee it up each week. Enjoy the sport and stop fixate on the golfer