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WGC BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONALAugust 2, 2012Bubba WatsonAKRON, OHIO LAURA HILL: We'd like to welcome Bubba Watson to the interview room. Nice 66 to start off the week. Maybe just let us know how you found the course out there today and getting off to a good start. BUBBA WATSON: The course is in great shape. First off, the greens are perfect. They're running real fast. Today was ideal. No wind. Sunshine. Ball was really traveling far today because of the humidity. There's scoring conditions out there right now. I hit my driver somewhat decent, so I had the ability to hit short irons in there and score. Q. How many times did you use your driver? BUBBA WATSON: A lot. (Laughter.) 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18. Q. Is that a lot for you here? BUBBA WATSON: I mean, it depends on weather. Weather dictates what we're going to do. For me, the weather is perfect today, no wind, so it was easier to hit more drivers today. And then depending on where the pin is, where the tees are, if it's into the wind on 17, I don't hit driver because I can't get over those bunkers. So it's all place, position off the tee. But to get over those bunkers today was simple, and so I did on 17. Sometimes you hit iron off that tee. It just depends on what the weather is doing and what it dictates. Q. Two questions: First, how many fairways did you miss? BUBBA WATSON: I don't know. I shot 4‑under. That's all I know. Q. And generally, on the par‑4s, what would you have left to the par‑4s after a tee shot with a driver, roughly? BUBBA WATSON: I mean, that's not a question‑‑ depends on which hole it is. No.1, I hit‑‑ I had 80 yards to the hole. No.4, I had 118 to the hole. And then I had some holes I had 190 to the hole after hitting driver. It just depends on what hole it is. It's a mixture. Q. Can you talk about the last couple of days being here, getting to know the course? Did you feel this coming today? BUBBA WATSON: Well, I've been playing good all year. It's not about do you feel it coming today or next week or what, it's just about been playing good all year, so you have to just be committed to what you're doing, committed to your shots, and be confident in your abilities. It's not like I've missed every cut all year and this is just a weird round. This is just a solid round, first day of the tournament. We've got three more days. If I do it three more days, then I'd love it. But I've still got three more days to produce good scores. It's not like it's a random good round of golf. Q. On 6, you hit the tee shot in the trees and the second shot you smacked the tree. What were you trying to do there? BUBBA WATSON: Trying to hit it under that tree, and I hit it. I didn't hit it low enough. Q. Can you talk about that sequence, 16, 17, 18, 1 and 2? Three birdies, bogey, eagle. BUBBA WATSON: 16 is that long par‑5. I hit it in the first cut, laid up with a 7‑iron, had 93 yards, I think, into the par‑5. Hit it in there about six feet, made the putt. 17, I hit driver, killed a driver down the middle, had 78 yards, hit it to about 10 feet, made that putt. 18, I hit a good drive, had 112, and I hit it in there about another 10‑footer and made it. 1, I hit it six inches in the rough where you have no lie, so I hit this shot out of there, just rolled back down the slope into the rough and didn't get up‑and‑down, so I made bogey. No.2, I hit another good drive down the fairway, hit 8‑iron in there to about 10, 12 feet again, and then made that putt. Q.  What would you say was your best shot of the day on what you've described as‑‑ BUBBA WATSON: The last one. (Laughter.) Q. I didn't see that. BUBBA WATSON: Well, it was a putt. It was a 12‑foot putt for birdie on No.9, so I didn't have to two‑putt. Q. Everybody talks about how long you hit the darned thing, but even at the highest levels of the game where you're playing, it's still all about putting. It looks like you had a really good day with the flat stick. Do you think your putting is overlooked, underrated, or do you think folks recognize that you make a lot of them? BUBBA WATSON: Well, again, that's a tough one because the person who's winning that week is always putting really well. If I start winning every week, then people will realize I putt pretty good. You know, my iron play is really good. I'm really consistent with my irons. I think I'm No.1 in greens hit. So my driver, I hit it pretty far, and then I hit my irons pretty good and then putt halfway decent. So it equals out to an okay golfer, I guess. Q. There's a Joe Walsh song, "Everybody is so different, I haven't changed." Your life has obviously changed since April. Do you think that's kind of in the rearview mirror now, but do you think people are still feeding that back to you? BUBBA WATSON: Well, it's not in the rearview because I still have this child that we adopted and we're learning from him every day. The Masters, yeah, that was four months ago, four and a half months ago. We're onto the World Golf Championship here in Akron, and then we're off to the PGA, so I've got other things I want to do, not just live and dream on the one Masters that I won. Q. Folks don't talk about that much? BUBBA WATSON: A lot of people do, but for me that's in the past. Now we've got to move forward, keep going. Q. You kind of touched on it, and seeing Angie out here, is that an indicator that the adoption is finalized now? BUBBA WATSON: No, it's not finalized yet. We've still got a couple more things to do, one more court case, I think. So yeah, it's not finalized yet. Q. So Caleb still can't travel out of state? BUBBA WATSON: No, he's been out of state. Yeah, he's here. All of her family is in from Canada, so they're here. Her mom, grandma is babysitting right now, so grandma is having fun right now so everybody else can come out here and watch me. Q. As normal as you can have for a six‑month‑old? BUBBA WATSON: Right, as normal as you can have. It's been fun. Golf has obviously changed a lot since winning the Masters, but also knowing that a bad shot means nothing. My child doesn't know if I shot 66 today or if I shot 86. So that's the fun part, going home and playing with him and watching him smile and giggle and watching him roll over. He's just been rolling over nonstop. Q. Is this the first tournament he's attended? BUBBA WATSON: No. He was with me at Memorial was his first one, and then U.S. Open. So he's missed the cut both times he's been to my tournaments. No, I take that back. He was at Travelers. I finished second at Travelers, so he's two cuts and a second, so he's getting better. We're not going to miss the cut this week. Q. How does this course set up for a left‑hander, or does it matter whether you're right or left here? BUBBA WATSON: We're all talented golfers, so it doesn't matter if you're right‑handed or left‑handed. If you hit the right shots, if you move your ball the right way, every golf course can set up for you, so it doesn't really matter if you're right‑handed or left‑handed. Today I guess it's good to be left‑handed. Q. The fans seemed to really get behind you the last few holes. Do you hear that out there? BUBBA WATSON: Well, I'm supposed to be locked in, but yes, you do hear it. Yes, you do hear what they're cheering for you. Obviously you get excited, you get pumped up, and it's good to know that you have a couple fans out there cheering for you and pulling for you. Obviously that does help when people are pulling for you and trying to pump you up when you make a bogey or something like that. LAURA HILL: Thanks a bunch. Have a good week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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