TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

June 25, 2021

Bubba Watson

TPC River Highlands

Quick Quotes

Q. Can you describe what happened on 2?

BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, it was a perfect tee shot right down the middle. Chipped it in there and made the putt for birdie. You know, I don't --

Q. Ho-hum.

BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, hi-hum, then just laced a 3-wood off the next hole. It's one of the things where the driver is travel, heat, cold, whatever it is, over time, overuse, my driver head popped off. It's the shaft right above the hosel. It's cracked, broke, whatever you want to call it.

Did it probably -- the last time it happened might have been Korea, Presidents Cup in Korea. I remember right before the first tee on the driving range. Again, nobody has ever been hit by it, and luckily DJ was just out of the way and it didn't reach the crowd, so nobody got hurt, hit. Nobody in my group knew where the ball was.

Once you hit, you're focused on where the driver head goes. So, again, luckily -- but if I was going to hit anybody I was hoping it would be Brooks. But I missed him though. Not that good of an aimer.

It's one of those things that happened before and I always have a back up. They brought me the back up two holes later and I played with that the rest of the day.

Q. What do you do try and not let that take you out of your rhythm you had going and not think about that?

BUBBA WATSON: Well, because I knew that truthfully No. 3 is a perfect 3-wood hole, but I just hate hitting 3-wood. I knew it was perfect for there and I knew where my backup was and they could get it in time.

When you think about it, you only have No. 4, 6, and 7; you don't have to hit driver on 9. So I knew there was only a couple drivers left, so really wasn't too big a deal.

But I knew I had my backup, so it was never a threat I guess.

Q. What is it about this course that seems to suit your eye so well and makes you play as well as you do here?

BUBBA WATSON: When you come off the U.S. Open everything seems easier. Even though there is thick rough you feel like you can play out of it. You can still move the ball forward.

Obviously with the new design there is couple bunkers that are tricky. As long as you stay out of the bunkers you can still move the ball forward and you feel like you have a chance to hit the green.

That's really what I've felt over the years, is that I can play no matter where the ball ends up.

Q. Do you feel pressure when you come to an event like this where you know historically guys have taken it deep and you need to make a lot of birdies?

BUBBA WATSON: No, because this golf course does that. I mean, my first win ever, whoever was winning, don't want to call them out, shot 2-over the last round. You know, under pressure it gets tough trying to hit shots on the back nine with a lot of water, gusty winds.

And so my first win here in '10 I shot I think like, gosh, 6-under, 4-under, whatever I shot, and the leader shot 2-over. It's one of those things that now being a champion here you feel confident, excited about getting here and making a few putts.

Q. Just curious, you've had some special things happen here for you. Can you describe what your feeling is when you come onto this property? What is it about here?

BUBBA WATSON: You know, again, first time I ever played here it was a different sponsor and I shot I think a 74, 74 without looking it up, and I was like, man, I'm never coming back here.

Then Travelers started coming around to everybody and saying, Hey, we're going change the range. The old range here where you couldn't hit driver, not supposed to hit driver. So they said they were going to change that and start doing better for the players and caddies, trainers, physios. So there was a lot of things they were going to amp up and then golf was the last thing they were worried about.

So brought a different atmosphere. The crowd got behind it, the community. And then as you know, finding my way through life you do different things in your life that are so impactful, meaningful, and going in the -- to the different places around here, Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, seeing that, feeling that, the energy of these kids, listening to their songs that they sang for me and my wife at lunch, was amazing.

So and then my first win here with my dad watching. So many things that happened with my family at this place, this community. It just means so much to us, and so when I get here I just feel energized. I feel like the people are behind me and they're pulling for me. I feel like I can move the ball forward from any lie, so that's always a positive trying to make a par or make a birdie.

Q. Just one question on the very end of the round. Not to bring it down, but what did you technically do on the last putt there on 9?

BUBBA WATSON: Technically didn't read it right. The books that are going away, it says it was going to the right, and me and Teddy couldn't see that. You know, on a short putt like that, even though it was short, it still has movement enough to miss the hole like it did.

Teddy said, Man, it's got to be dead straight. I said, Me too. But it missed low. My other putt missed this way and somehow my putt goes this way on the short one.

So it wasn't a technique problem. It was just one of the those things. I told Teddy I'm not going to baby it on 8 and 9, so I wanted to try to make the putts. Normally I'm used to lagging them.

So I was trying to -- I mean, it's only two days in so still a long way to go, but I was trying to get some extra ones if I could. Just one of those things that went the wrong way.

Q. But you don't let that be a downer?

BUBBA WATSON: No. I made the cut, we're here fighting, so we're good.

Q. Have you ever met Billy Casper before?

BUBBA WATSON: No. Not that I know of.

Q. He's won four times here. What would it mean if you were able to pick up your fourth win here at the Travelers to join such a legendary name?

BUBBA WATSON: Yes, it would be with great company, but forget that. Just winning here or winning anywhere four times, or four times ever on TOUR, just all those things all add up.

It was funny, me and Phil, I was asking Phil some questions out there the last couple days and I told him one of my most exciting things in golf was getting my PGA TOUR card.

So that was one of the most exciting things in golf before I became vice captain of the Ryder Cup. It was one of those things where never dreamed I could win that many times, and now at one place having a chance to get four times and tie one of the greats of all-time, yeah, be a thrill of a lifetime.

Q. One last question. You play well at a lot of different places, do you feel like you're kind of a horse for certain courses?

BUBBA WATSON: Yes, for sure. If you look at some of courses, it's always courses you can move the ball forward. I just -- it's no fun for me to have to chip out sideways of the rough or -- but like any golf course, you can hit a ball next to the lip of a bunker. That's one thing.

But out of rough you can always move it forward. Augusta, you can still hit shots, even though they have a little rough now -- which everybody has been wanting them to go back to no rough -- but you can play shots out of the trees, off the pine straw, out of that little bit of rough.

L.A. I've won a few times as well. There is not really any rough. You can maneuver the ball from many different spots on that golf course. Same thing as here. I feel like after the U.S. Open this is light rough. Even though this is heavy rough, it's still lighter than U.S. Open and you feel like you can always move the ball forward.

Any golf course where I feel like I can always move it forward from the rough or from the fairway, then I feel good around it.