LIV GOLF UNITED KINGDOM

July 27, 2025

Bubba Watson

JCB Golf and Country Club

RangeGoats GC

Quick Quotes

Q. That was quite a six-hole stretch. How would you describe it?

BUBBA WATSON: You know, it's almost like you black out, right? You're so focused on what you're doing. And truthfully, I never thought about -- Joaco birdied, what, the first hole or couple -- birdied No. 3, so couple under.

So you're not really thinking about catching him. You're thinking about these other guys making birdies and trying to stay up there and get second place.

If he stumbles somehow, but you don't see it because he's playing so good.

When that stretch happens you're just kind of unconscious, right? You're hitting shots -- like I hit this beautiful driver off the deck. Can't see where it goes, but must have hit the downslope to roll up onto the green to four feet, five feet.

And then birdieing the next hole, you can see it. Birdieing 9 you can see it. But that eagle, then the eagle on 13, right? And then I mean, he got a beautiful par where he could have easily -- could have been further in the trees. There is a lot of things that could have happened, right?

No, it was one of those moments, hour-long stretch, that was unbelievable. I couldn't draw it up that good. I couldn't picture it that good. Then you walk away and you're like holy -- I looked at the leaderboard and I saw I was 4-under going into 13. I was like, I thought I was over par a second ago. Oh, my gosh.

So you don't realize what's going on.

Q. Do you ever recall having any kind of six-hole stretch like that before?

BUBBA WATSON: I mean, I birdied five or six holes in a row before. Not with these eagles, not under this kind of pressure, this kind of golf course. Walking to 14 when he says the next -- says on the microphone, the next group coming and says he's on a historic run, I didn't -- you don't think about it until you hear it. You hear it and he's like, you know, birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, eagle, and then I birdied that hole, right?

So it was just like, yeah, just crazy, like chaos. You don't really think about it until it happens. Then you're like, wow, oh, gosh, don't mess this up, don't do this.

But, yeah, I mean, that was crazy. Throwing in the eagles with two drivers off the deck was pretty special, pretty spectacular. Birdieing those many holes in a row is one thing. Doing it with a couple eagles in there was pretty crazy.

Q. I was going ask you about the driver off the deck twice. Is that something that you get such a thrill of because of your length, because it's just fun, because it's not like your average everyday shot?

BUBBA WATSON: You know what it's --

Q. You pull the driver and decide on driver...

BUBBA WATSON: It's not something I practice. You don't practice it, right? I just do it. We had 300 plus to the hole on 10, 280 something to the front I think. So wasn't even -- I was just trying to get it over there where I could chip down to the bowl, right?

I was like, man, that might have hit the downslope, and about that time, 30, 40 seconds later everybody starts cheering and I was like, must have hit the downslope.

Then to get it in the bowl is just I guess luck I'll say it. Then driver off the deck on 13 was a different shot. Like I was trying to fit that in there, but I don't go to the range and practice them. I never practice those until we're playing practice rounds and I need that shot or if I'm playing in a tournament.

Q. So this is your first podium.

BUBBA WATSON: Yeah.

Q. It's got to be gratifying, got to be so much fun to have played like you did today.

BUBBA WATSON: 100%.

Q. I don't know how you process it.

BUBBA WATSON: It was good. The other golfers know, right? They can see that you're playing well. When other golfers come up to you and say, man, you're playing great this year, you know, you finally had a great -- had a couple good finishes, what I'm saying is a podium finish, for them to acknowledge that and see that, you know, golf is such a fine line, right.

Guy finishes -- makes a bogey and finishes 11th or 15th and all you're focused on is the winners and the podium people. That's a fine line between second and 9th or 15th. It's one shot, one double bogey, whatever it is.

So it's good that these guys acknowledge it and see that I am putting my effort in there and trying to get better and trying to compete with these guys. It was good it paid off this week.

Q. Talked a little bit about it yesterday, but coming back from the injury and all that, but was there ever a time where you thought you might not be able to experience something like this or did you always feel like at some point I'll recover, get healthy, the old Bubba?

BUBBA WATSON: You always have that dream, right? You have the dream to do that. I challenged myself. Like I knew -- I mean, Tyler was my rehab guy. When I had surgery he said it's a nine-month process to get you back to play, and not at the highest level I want to be at. But to get you back playing where I can hit it 300 yards. I had to build speed back up, I had do everything because of my leg.

So he said it was going to be a two-year process for me to not even -- my muscle to get back to where it needs to be, right? You're going to lose the quad muscle.

Yeah, we knew it was a long process, but I always challenged myself to do it so my kids can see me fight through an injury and recovery and then try to play good golf.

It's taken a little bit longer than I wanted to, but no, it's nice seeing this year pay off and the hard work pay off.

Q. (Regarding the Masters.)

BUBBA WATSON: I played good at the Masters this year, too. Finished 14th. Yeah, no, it's been a great year. The putter has gotten me there. If you look at my stats, my stats haven't changed much. The only thing that changed over the last two years -- the last two years I've been dead last on LIV in putting. If not dead last, second to last.

So just make the putting average is going to throw me into a whole new ballgame. So the ball striking is always there. It's just getting that putter to make the par putt or make the birdie putt.

It's doing that this year a lot more and so we're -- that's why we're closer to the lead or having a chance on Sundays now.