TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

June 27, 2021

Bubba Watson

TPC River Highlands

Quick Quotes

Q. Bubba, how would you kind of assess the close to that round?

BUBBA WATSON: Gosh, I mean, the close to the round, I thought I hit good shots. 18 trying to get a birdie to I think a Top 10 if I'd a birdied. Hit a perfect shot. The wind, you know, it's either going to travel or it's not. Didn't travel.

Out of the bunker, it's happened many times out of the bunker. I slip a lot because my feet move a lot.

So one of those things. After the bogey on 14 I tried to cut a 3-iron to get it to shape in there so it will bounce towards the hole or come up just short of the green or maybe get lucky with the downslope and get it on the green.

Just came out of it, pushed it, and I pushed it on a hole where you can't push it. It was one of those things if it would have happened on the front nine we wouldn't be talking about it.

So I'm glad that I was there, had the opportunity. You know, I would love to do it again next week, throw up on myself again. It would it be great. I want to the opportunity and the chance to win.

Q. You've had so many great moments here with birdie runs and whatnot, obviously the three wins. How much of what happened to you today is an example of how volatile this golf course is, it gives and takes to some degree?

BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, for sure. With this wind, we saw it. The scores didn't go too low. The first couple days we saw low scores because there was less wind and the direction of wind and all those things.

When the wind picks up like this weekend, makes it a lot more challenging. Gosh, I've thrown up on myself before here. Made a triple on 16 to lose when I was up by one or two that year.

Yeah, you see that a lot. You see how difficult it is. I think English made a bogey from the middle of the fairway on 17. Again, it's not because he probably hit a bad shot. He probably just guessed wrong with the wind or whatever, bounced hard on the green.

So we've seen it throughout the years where people do that, not just on this golf course but all golf courses. But when the wind gets gusty this finish is very difficult to come down and try to win.

Q. What did you see out of Kramer today? Obviously chasing his first win. You know what that's like. You got yours here.

BUBBA WATSON: You know what, I saw steady. I saw steady. Didn't really rush. Looks like he stays to his game plan, stays to his routines. When I say game plan I don't know about attacking the golf course. I am just talking about his routine, mental preparation.

And it was fun. It was fun to watch him. It's fun to watch a young guy like that just keep grinding. His ball striking didn't -- I know this is going to sound bad -- didn't really impress me. I didn't think he was doing anything, you know, hitting the greens or getting up and down. It wasn't like attacking and missing a lot of putts. It was just steady golf.

Then coming down the stretch he knew what he had to do, so it was awesome to see a guy like that do that. I think I was in the group when I think Stroud made a long putt one year on the 18th when I was in the group with him to force a playoff. So, yeah, it is cool to see that. If it's not me, might as well be him.

Q. How hard is it to birdie 18 when you have to?

BUBBA WATSON: Well, especially -- so on this hole downwind where that pin is, some years they change the in location. When the pin is in the back it's a little different, a little easier.

So we took a lot off my driver. I played a big old cut. Again, I was trying to birdie to move up. Didn't matter where I was. Could have been dead last, but I still want to birdie, finish strong.

So I tried to take something off of it so I would have a fuller shot in there. Because if you try to half a shot in there it's hard to stop it downwind.

He did it perfectly. I think he had a full club. Looked like he swung at it pretty good. So if you get the right distance off the tee, it gives you a chance to make birdie on a pin like this. This is a very difficult pin to make a birdie on.

Q. Was it impressive what he did?

BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, for sure. Because normally, gosh, I remember hunter may hand one time when I won the pin was about -- almost feels like eight yards further up the green closer to the bunker over there.

And so today it's a lot closer than normal or what we're used to. Yeah, very impressive. I think Harris English made birdie, too. He went bogey, birdie? I don't know how he made it, chipped in or made a long putt or what.

Q. 25-footer.

BUBBA WATSON: There you go. Pretty impressive doing that. Getting it to 25 feet is pretty good.

Q. Did you say 3-iron on 15?

BUBBA WATSON: Yeah.

Q. That's what you hit all week pretty much, right?

BUBBA WATSON: No. I hit 3-wood because the wind was different the first two days. Yeah, yeah, for sure.