Bubba Watson: The Champion

When you make the turn at Augusta, you’re thinking about what this means to you, to your family and to your career in golf. But you have to quit thinking about that, so your caddie steps in and tells you everything he can tell you besides the game of golf to get you to concentrate on what you’re supposed to be doing.

When it comes down to it, on the back nine, you just have to make those momentum putts. The guy that’s hitting great tee shots but then making the putts, he’s going to be the champion.

I don’t care about how pretty or ugly my swing is. I don’t care if I have to hit half of my shots out of the woods. I only care what it takes to make the score.

You have to play your swing. You have to play what you know. Sometimes I’ll hit a big slice off the tee to get it in play or I’ll hit a big draw with an iron. That’s what I’d tell anybody: do whatever makes you feel comfortable in your own swing and your own game.

I would never have a mental coach. I’m nuts. They’d quit their job! But the press think I’m mental so I do have to fix it.

I think the media really loves me because I don’t give ‘PC’ answers. Sometimes people write different stories and twist it in ways they want to, but I don’t read what people write about me. I took the internet off my phone. My true family and friends know who I am as a person and what my heart is all about. I think the fans just see me as a small‑town guy that’s worked hard to get where he is. 

The only way I’m going to improve as a human being, improve as a husband and improve as a dad is when I get people that call me out. When I make mistakes and these people call you out and tell you you’re doing something wrong, it’s not to punish you or get on to you, it’s about helping you improve later in life. If everybody said I was great all the time, then I would never improve as a human being. So I do actually love it, I love that the media calls me out. I love when my friends call me out. My mum calls me out a lot too, and I do love it.

I’m a sinner and I mess up a lot but I know when I do right from wrong and I’ve been taught the right thing to do. But no matter if I win every single tournament, half the world is going to love me and half the world is going to hate me. You can’t impress everybody and you can’t make everybody happy. It’s hard enough trying to make my wife happy, so I don’t need to worry about other people being happy.

I don’t think I’ve reached my potential yet. I expect better from myself but it comes down to the mental focus and getting over the bad shots or high expectations. Obviously I believe in myself, that I can be better and that I can perform at a better level.

We used to talk about guys in their mid‑30s playing their best golf, but I think it’s now getting closer to 40. I think I scratched the surface a little bit last year, but I still had my hiccups and bad press.

If I win again, I’ll cry again. I’ll cry because why me? Why Bubba Watson from Bagdad, Florida? Why is he winning? I always ask the question: why? Why me?