Bubba Watson still apologizing for boorish behavior at PGA
PARAMUS, N.J. – After he said he acted like a child during the PGA Championship, Bubba Watson has been trying to man up ever since.
Two weeks ago at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville at the last major championship of the season, Watson, who has struggled with his behavior in the past on numerous occasions, was an easy target for critics.
He refused to participate in the Long Drive Contest before the tournament started despite being one of the longest hitters in golf.
Then he treated his caddie, Ted Scott, like a broken tee, especially during a boorish second round when he dropped an obscenity after a poor shot, complained about water on his club face and actually made Scott tee up a ball for him so he wouldn't get wet in the rain.
Scathing commentary quickly followed on golf sites and throughout social media, so much so that Watson eventually was moved to apologize on Twitter.
He's still saying he was sorry.
"If you look at the bigger picture, not competing in the Long Drive Contest was the first mistake," the reigning Masters champion said Tuesday after a practice round ahead of Thursday's start of the FedExCup Playoffs at The Barclays. "When you look at just me as an individual, that was the selfish part, because I didn't agree with it but there's a lot of things that I don't agree with that I do.
"Then you look at it from my attitude on the golf course. Because I want something so bad, that's not the reason to do that. You still just bite your tongue and compete at a high level, don't show emotion, and I take it overboard because I want something so bad. I want to be considered a great player. I want to win golf tournaments and I've got to learn on that.
" … And then my language was not good. That's a different topic, and childish again. It's all childish stuff and I'm trying to mature and become a better man. I take it on the chin. It was my fault. Everything's my fault and I should be bigger and stronger and better than that."
Asked if he did anything right that week, Watson said he indeed did by making the cut and a birdie on the 72nd hole. He also did the right thing right after he finished play on Sunday.
"I've got to get a new umbrella this week because it started raining right when we putted out and I was walking across the bridge, and a guy goes, 'Bubba, can I have your umbrella?" Watson said. "So I just gave it to him. I was like, I'm done. You need it more than I do. You've got to go follow the leaders, so I gave my umbrella away.
"I don't know who it was. It was some fan. Or maybe it was just a guy that needed an umbrella. He could have been a writer, too, I guess. He didn't want me to sign it. He just wanted an umbrella."