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THE RYDER CUP

September 27, 2014

Bubba Watson

AUCHTERARDER, SCOTLAND

SARAH GWYNN: Thank you for coming in and joining us this afternoon. What a match that was, it was great to watch, must have been awesome to play in.

BUBBA WATSON: For sure. Would have been better if we would have won. A golf fan watching at home, what a match that was, watching Rose make those long putts, watching his teammate back him up when he finally didn't make a birdie. Then me and Kuch, we started out with a shot -- I think a 2-up lead, and then from 7 to 16, we hung in there but they birdied every hole and didn't have a par for ten holes. That has to be a record. I mean, that's just amazing. You hate to get beat, but the way they played, I mean, they beat us. It wasn't like we gave it to them. They beat us. We played great. They just played a lot better.

SARAH GWYNN: If you would sum up the general feeling in the team this afternoon, it must be quite a good one.

BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, our team feels good. We are closer. We moved forward. We gained a point, and so this afternoon, we know that we're playing good. The guys are playing good. But you know, it's golf. We've seen the up-and-downs so far this week. We've seen great play. We've seen holes chips, and we've seen it all happen. Hopefully they can stay strong this afternoon and maybe gain one more point.

Q. There's nobody here on this golf course around here who wouldn't give their right arm to have one-tenth of the ability that you have in this game. But the curious thing is, when you look at your record in The Ryder Cup, we're now up to ten played and seven lost, I think it is. It's obviously not a problem of ability. Doesn't seem to be a problem of passion. How do you explain that?
BUBBA WATSON: I guess I'm too nice. I cheer the other guys on too much, I guess. But you know, I'm just out there having fun. Maybe I make it too comfortable for the other guys. You know, I'm not going to be mean to anybody. I'm just going to play golf. Right now, the guys keep beating me. It's one of those things. And like today, today wasn't that I lost. It was, I got beat. Justin Rose and his partner played well. Henrik Stenson played quite well, and I can't look back and go, man, I wish I would have done this. I think I did everything I thought I could do. I think I had six birdies in 15 holes, so I can't get too mad at that. So I know my game is pretty good.

Q. That's bizarre, my colleague, we were just talking about it, and I said, I think you're too nice. All the way around the course today, you're always congratulating your opponents on their play. Is there something about The Ryder Cup that you need to be a little bit nasty to have success here?
BUBBA WATSON: Well, I'm not going to be that guy. It's about growing our great game. That's why The Ryder Cup started and that's the thing we need to tell everybody is that we're here to grow the game of golf. That's why the Ryder Cup started and I'm never going to be mean to anybody. I don't want to play golf if I have to be mean to somebody. I've got no reason to be mean. You know, these are good friends of mine. If they beat me, they beat me. Today I got beat. I didn't make bogeys. I didn't make doubles. I made birdies and just not enough of them. So no reason to get mad, and you're watching an historic event, you're watching great golf. I'm a fan of golf, as well. So no, I'm not going to play the game if I have to be mean to somebody. I'm never going to do that. I'm always going to pull for the other guy.

Q. I know you're here to talk mainly about your own performance, but can you throw any light at all on Henrik Stenson's injury?
BUBBA WATSON: On his what?

Q. He has a back injury apparently.
BUBBA WATSON: I didn't see it. He beat me pretty good two days in a row (laughter). I don't know anything about it, so I wouldn't know. Obviously he beat me. Maybe I've got an injury (laughs).

Q. You said you played well. Are you fully aware that what they did was a Ryder Cup record, 12-under par through 16 holes? Nobody in the history of this Ryder Cup has ever gone that low.
BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, I think they said we were nine. I think we were nine. So we did all right. We probably would have beat all the other teams. Just we had to play against them. No, it's amazing. You know, ten in a row, from 7 to 16, no pars, all birdies. I mean, that was -- we were hanging with them. We made a few birdies in there but obviously not ten in a row. We stretched the match as much as we could. I don't see that there was too much we could do different. We just got beat today. But yeah, it was amazing. When we got done and had an interview right off the green there on 16, I mean, that's just great golf -- I think TV, there was not much they could say bad about both groups today. It was good.

Q. A Ryder Cup record for your match today, 21-under, over 16 holes, across all four players. Is that down to the ability of the players out there, or is there something about the course? Jack Nicklaus said beforehand that this is not the most challenging course on offer.
BUBBA WATSON: No, it's challenging. If you watch, it's not like these birdies were gimmies or 5-footers. Both guys and Kuchar made long putts. I made a couple long ones. The putts were going in with solid pace, too. I made a 35-footer on 5. And then Rose made a 25-footer. Kuchar made about a 20-, 25-footer on 6. Henrik made a 10-footer, 8-footer on 7. Rose made a 35-footer on 8. They both hit gimmies on the par 5. Rose should have made that eagle putt and then he made it from off the green on 11. Kuchar made an 18-footer, 15-footer on 12. Rose made an 8-footer. These were real putts you could miss. When you start adding that up, it wasn't like we were just giving putts and they were limping in. These were solid putts. Rose fist-pumped a lot. Obviously I wish would have won one. Beat me two days in a row. It was great golf. It wasn't that I gave it away, it was great golf. As a golf fan, it's great to watch. It's touch conditions out there. This wind is gusting pretty good.

Q. Were the greens faster today? They were talking about the conditions, is that why it was a little more spectacular play than yesterday?
BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, the wind is roughly, let's just say, half speed than yesterday. They said yesterday the green speeds were going to be slower because of the wind conditions. Today they sped it up a little bit, let's just say, probably six inches faster, eight inches faster, somewhere in there. So that changes a lot and people can make putts because we are used to a little faster greens, even the guys that live in the U.S. for Europe, they are used to the faster greens, as well.

Q. Was there a point during the match where it occurred to you -- and something weird is going on here, this is pretty amazing, all the birdies going in. Did it have a different feel at some point?
BUBBA WATSON: You know, after No. 8, 8 is where I think they tied it up. We went all-square I think on 8. So I think at that point, we might have been 4-under, I'm not sure, somewhere in there. So all-square at 4-under, we're like, man, we're playing great golf, just try to keep doing what we're doing and make a few more birdies. Then we birdied 9. Birdieing the par 5, you think the other team is going to birdie, so that wasn't a big deal, so we're 5-under. And then birdieing 10, and he made the long putt on 10, and then we birdied 11. Then we got 2-down with four or five holes to play and then we started counting, like, they birdied every hole. That's when you realise -- while we're playing, you're not really thinking about it but obviously afterwards, what a moment that was. Obviously I wish I was on the other end, but I guess my name will be in the record book somehow, you know.

SARAH GWYNN: Thank you, Bubba.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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