	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

September 4, 2011

Bubba Watson

NORTON, MASSACHUSETTS

JOHN BUSH: 54-hole leader Bubba Watson joins us here at the Deutsche Bank Championship at 11-under par. 1-under today. Comment on sort of an up-and-down round.
BUBBA WATSON: It started out with a bad shot on 1 and a quick bogey. But I held it together. I stayed focused on what I wanted to do, my game plan. Made some birdies. Indecisions on 11 and 12, two quick bogeys. But I fought down the stretch. I had a couple bad lies, but I had some good ones, too, so it all equals out. One up going into the last day, so got a good shot at it.
JOHN BUSH: Final group of the day, that's where you want to be. Comment about the final round.
BUBBA WATSON: It's always nice to be in the final round because then you know what everybody is doing. You know what you've got to do. If you play slow enough, you'll be two holes back so then you know what you have to do. It's a good position to be in. That's where you want to be in. Every week that's what we try to do is get in the final group because that means you have a great chance on Sunday.

Q. What was the indecision on 11 and 12?
BUBBA WATSON: Wind. You know, I wasn't sure what the wind was doing. They've got that false front right there on 11. Yesterday I hit a 6-iron. Today I was trying to hit a 6-iron but dead straight, like a low bullet is what we call it. I just came out of it, not trusting it, not trusting it was going to get there.
12, the wind hasn't really been doing much, even though it's coming that same direction the last couple days, it didn't really do much to my ball. Today off the tee, I aimed at my same target and it drifted into some high grass where I had to lay up on a par-4.

Q. Starting the day at 10-under, now here at 11, are you surprised that you are the solo leader and no one else went kind of low?
BUBBA WATSON: No, because this golf course -- if you look at the history of this golf course, it gets firmer. Especially when it gets gusty like this and blowing a little bit, it's harder to shoot low numbers. In the morning, yeah, the golf course is different. It firms up throughout the day. Winds picked up a little bit. So obviously you'd think 3-under -- I was 3-under at one point. You would think 3-under or something would have been better. But yeah, to have a one-shot lead, it's not really -- it's not really a go-low course when the wind is like this you'd say. Obviously some do in the morning.

Q. I haven't looked at your record with the 54-hole lead, but I'm just wondering do you like being the marked man or are you more lay in the weeds and chaser type guy?
BUBBA WATSON: I'd rather have a lead than down. I'd rather be one up. I don't know my record, either. I don't know how I do. Obviously not very good. I only won three times, so I've lost a lot more than I've won.
But you'd rather have a lead. Anyone in this tournament would rather have a lead instead of one back or two back.

Q. I think there's five guys at 10-under, some pretty good guys having some pretty good summers, Adam Scott, Reavie has been playing well lately, Jerry Kelly. Just your thoughts on the pack of wolves nipping at your heels, could be pretty thick and heavy coming down the stretch in theory?
BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, it's all about execution. Everybody at 8-under, 7-under, if they go out and shoot a low number, somebody shoots 7-under from 7, that's 14. I've got to shoot 3. I mean, anybody has a chance. It just depends who's got the hot putter or how bad the wind is, if 1-under might make it tomorrow. You just never know. Even par might give me the victory. You just never know because you don't know what the weather is going to be, how tough the pins are going to be, how firm the grass is going to be.
Today it started firming up the last few holes today, so tomorrow if it stays the same, it's probably going to be a pretty tough finish tomorrow.
JOHN BUSH: Let's go through the card real quick.
BUBBA WATSON: 1, I tried to hit a little 9-iron in there, pulled it, hit it to about seven feet, missed it, made bogey.
No. 2, I hit driver, had 163 hole, I hit pitching wedge over the green -- just over the green in the hazard there, chipped it to about 12 feet, 15 feet, made it.
4, I hit 4-wood 40 yards short, chipped it to about three feet, made it.
7, I hit driver and had 236 hole, I hit 7-iron downwind obviously, and then I two-putted for birdie there.
10, I hit 3-iron, 56-degree sand wedge to about eight feet, made it.
And then 6-iron on 11, fanned it, made a quick bogey there, missed about a ten-footer.
12, hit it in the rough, chipped out, hit it to about 20 feet, missed it.
15, I missed my target by about 15 feet and couldn't get to the green in the rough because I was on the upslope. Hit it to about 10, 12 feet, missed it.
And then 17, I hit 3-iron and then hit a low pitching wedge in there to about 12, 15 feet again and then made it.

Q. 7 seems to be the hole that's been your salvation in this tournament. Why are you so good on that hole?
BUBBA WATSON: Well, until 18 today, I've birdied or eagled every par-5, so 18 today I finally made a par. I've just hit good tee shots there. The wind has been right where I can hit it way down there. First day it wasn't blowing as hard. I hit 4-wood in there. Yesterday I hit 5-iron in there and today I hit 7-iron in there. Obviously on a par-5 if you're hitting shorter irons in, it's easier to make a good score.

Q. How aggressive can you be early on tomorrow?
BUBBA WATSON: Well, you can't really be aggressive. You've just got to do the same thing. When I tee off tomorrow, the tee time is the same, it's 1:40. It's already afternoon, it's already firming up. I've just got to come out and play the way I played today and hopefully make a few more putts.

Q. You're always joking about this and sometimes I can't tell when you're busting on us and when you're not --
BUBBA WATSON: That's good.

Q. Until you're trying to be serious and then I'm not quite sure.
BUBBA WATSON: Well, because y'all bust on us.

Q. Fair point. You've talked about being nervous and Feherty says you're jumpier than a box of frogs, and there's all the funny one-liners. Are you any more comfortable now in this situation than you were 14 months ago when you had zero wins and you hadn't gotten it done?
BUBBA WATSON: No. I'm just as nervous. My dream always in life was to be a professional golfer and to make putts to win the golf tournament or hopefully four-jack and still win the golf tournament.
But yeah, I'm nervous. I have a thrill playing the game. I want to hit great shots. I want to be the best in the game. I want to win every tournament. It doesn't work out that way; no one in history has ever won every tournament. So we get nervous. Everybody tomorrow is going to be nervous. Even if they lie and say they're not nervous, they're still nervous. And if they're not nervous, they're probably not --

Q. But less nervous, more comfortable -- you've won three of these things in a year.
BUBBA WATSON: I'm still nervous, I deal with it differently. Now I've already got a win, so if I choke tomorrow I've still got three other wins to look at.
JOHN BUSH: Bubba, we appreciate your time. Play well tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297