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THE GREENBRIER CLASSIC

July 5, 2018

Bubba Watson

White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

Q. You said just over there, I overheard you say you played scared golf today. How does a guy that has three wins this year play scared golf?
BUBBA WATSON: That's the beauty of the game. It doesn't matter how many wins you have, it doesn't matter if you won every single tournament this year, you put that pressure on yourself and you want to perform at a high level. On every tee shot, doesn't matter if it was iron off the tee or driver off the tee, I just played scared because I wanted the fairway so bad.

I never had anything free up. Now after the tee shot, then I freed it up. A lot of wedges, a lot of short irons in here that I could make some numbers. But it was just awful. Then that wave on the par-3, it was an 8 on my 17th, I just double crossed it because I sat there for so long, and already not feeling confident on my tee shots. It was just a bad swing, and it put me in a really bad position to make a quick double.

Q. 2-under par today, how do you feel after those 18 holes?
BUBBA WATSON: I feel miserable. It was a terrible round of golf. No confidence off the tee. Didn't matter, par-3, didn't matter iron off the tee, didn't matter driver off the tee. Just no confidence. I played scared golf. My score shows a couple under par, but it was really bad. I mean, I was out there and I was just fighting anything just trying to make a score. I was getting lucky, kept getting lucky, and I finally made a double bogey on my 17th hole, number 8.

Q. You could be heard audibly out on the round talking about the speed of the greens. Was that an issue for you today to find the speed of the putts today?
BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, my speed was so far -- it was so off. I hit one hard, hit one easy. It was one of those things where everything seemed like it was just off, just a little off. Chipping, putting, driving the ball, everything was just a little off. You know, just as frustration builds, that's when I just kept talking to myself, trying to let some of that anger out.

Q. Early in the round you were seen shaking your wrist as well. Is everything okay there?
BUBBA WATSON: I hope so. I finished. It was one of those on number -- gosh, the second hole of the day, No. 11, I was just trying to chip out of the bunkers. I couldn't get to the green, so I just jammed it. My backhand just jammed off the lip of the bunker. And I have some other things going on, so I already took two Advil before I teed off.

As it got hotter, it stretched out, and I was trying to work on it a little bit, trying to stretch it out. It took a couple holes. Basically like a stinger, it went out after a couple holes. Once you make a birdie, it's good.

Q. With all that, Bubba, it's still a 68. So you kind of forget about this one and think about tomorrow, huh?
BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, I mean, I didn't shoot myself out of it. I'm still there, but it was just tough. I really want to play well here. I feel like I was hitting the ball really well coming into this week. So it's just -- it's just heartbreaking to start, you know, falling back and not trusting what I've been doing all year and the last couple weeks.

So it was just hard for me to fight that, to fight that mind and trying to beat it. I did. I shot 2-under, so I'm not out of it. Travelers a couple weeks ago, I shot even first round, and I did all right that weekend. So I'm not out of it. It's just one of those things where I felt like I could really take it low today, and I just missed a putt here and there. Hit a couple tee shots here and there, and then that double bogey. So it just put me back.

But it's not a bad day. It's just heartbreaking knowing where I'm at and how I felt this week.

Q. (Inaudible) you want to do well here, that you come here and force it a little bit?
BUBBA WATSON: That's every tournament. That's what I was saying over there. Doesn't matter if I've won every tournament up to this point, you still want to play good. I'm trying to beat you. I'm trying to beat anybody in the field. I'm trying to lift that trophy. So it really doesn't matter if you won. It doesn't matter if you missed every cut. You're still putting pressure on yourself because you want it so bad. We're athletes and we want to win and we want to lift the trophy.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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