With all the media coverage of Tiger, his swing changes and struggles on and off the course I can’t fully express what a breath of fresh air Bubba Watson is. Here is a guy who has one of the most unorthodox games on tour and has battled anger issues in his past. He was well known as being a “hot head” when he first came out on tour. He has admitted that he let the desire to win overcome him and really affect his ability to move past hitting bad shots.
Bubba openly talks about the fact that his past on the course behavior was counter productive and a bad example for young kids. Are we sure this guy is a professional athlete? He was able to step back and say that his behavior was not working for him as a golfer, but also not working for those around him that he has serious intentions of helping. Does this sound like the exact dialogue that someone else out on tour probably should have taken up? Just imagine if this is how Tiger went about his business.
The results of Bubba’s transformation are undeniable. In his post round interview he said that after his first win his career would have been complete and his past two wins were just a huge bonus. I don’t think this is 100% true because you can see that Bubba wants to win and he wants to win bad. He has said in past interviews that he is just like Tiger in the sense that he comes to every golf tournament with the intention of winning; he just doesn’t win as much as Tiger. The fact that he says that makes me like him even more as a role model and a golfer. He embodies what a golfer should be. Creative, determined, friendly/funny and humble.
It is hard not to like a guy like Bubba. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and for good reason. He has been through a lot, but at the end of the day he seems human and comfortable with who he is. He is the antithesis of Tiger and the facade of a person he was. Tiger pretended to be superhuman in all aspects of his life and now we know that was not true. He has faults like the rest of us and I commend Bubba for being his own man. It takes a lot to pick out your faults and even more to accept them and work towards fixing them.
Everyone says Bubba won’t win a U.S. Open because of reasons x, y and z, but I wouldn’t count Bubba out for anything. His creativity and determination have gotten him this far and I am excited to see how much further he can go. I for one am rooting for Bubba all the way and expect big things from him down the road.
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