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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPFebruary 20, 2014Bubba WatsonMARANA, ARIZONA Q. Bubba, you started the round, you birdied the first, birdied the second, birdied the third. I think you were surprised you went to 18 in the end? BUBBA WATSON: No. You know, he's a good player. We're all good players out here. He made it through the first round. You knew it was going to be a battle all day. Just like yesterday, I was down early and came back and fought back and won. You have got to prepare for that. You have got to know it's going to be that way. What I had to do the last few holes is just try to make pars, hit good shots and make him beat me. He beat me on 17 and then on I got lucky on 18. Q. Looking forward to the next few rounds. Don't you think the back nine really suits you the way it's set up? BUBBA WATSON: Well, I haven't really showed it as much as I want to right now. But, yeah, it can. If I'm focused on what I'm doing, the two par‑5s and the drivable par‑4, obviously those are going to go in my favor. Q. Congratulations. You move on, had the 3‑up lead early. In this competition you know it can come down to the last hole. You ended up coming up with the win. BUBBA WATSON: For sure, I lost a little momentum there. He came back on me, and then I just had to play steady. He made a great birdie on 17 to force 18, and then I got lucky on 18 just to squeak by. For me, it's always good just to get past, but you'd like to end it a little bit earlier. Q. 3‑up after 4, and I thought that front nine tee to green you hit every green, gave yourself a lot of good looks. That might have been the best ball striking I've seen out here from you? BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, for sure. That was back like last weekend. That was solid golf. Then I just kind of ran out of energy, who knows what. Just looking forward tomorrow. Getting through the match and looking forward to tomorrow. Q. Victor Dubuisson, study up on your French for tomorrow? BUBBA WATSON: Exactly, exactly. I'm just going to say good shot. He probably understands that. Q. How much did it help to get off to a hot start like that? BUBBA WATSON: Any time you can get the lead like that, it's good. I was trying to just get an early lead, trying to get ahead of the game. I made the turn, a couple of bad swings here and there. I fought him at the end. He made birdie on 17. And 18, I got lucky there. It's just always good to get past the round. Q. Having such a long drive, I'm sure it helps out in a situation like this, a guy has to hit a second shot before he even hits it bad. And you can just think put it out there in the middle of the green? BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, he just made one bad swing all day that was right there on 18 with the tee shot. I hit my 3‑iron down the middle so I could see what he did on the second shot. I just played safe on my second shot after I saw where he was, just made sure I didn't mess up. I just scraped through. Q. Being one of the higher seeds in this bracket, is there kind of extra pressure, you know, being the higher seed, being the favorite? BUBBA WATSON: No. Seeds don't mean anything. This isn't football or baseball or basketball. A seeding in golf means nothing. Everybody in the top 100 in the world, top 200 in the world can win at any moment. It really doesn't matter what the seed is. Q. Do you think it's closer now than it's ever been? BUBBA WATSON: I think golf has always been that way. Golf is about four rounds, and this is just one round. So anybody can win at any moment. Q. You got the victory. How do you feel about your play today? BUBBA WATSON: I feel all right. A couple of holes I left the golf course for a little bit, but then I came back. I played solid down the stretch, and that's what I had to do. When you're winning, the last few holes just make pars and make them beat you. He beat me on 17, and then on 18 I just scraped through with a victory there. Q. 3‑up nicely going into the back nine, and then suddenly back to 1. Tee shot at 15, tell us about that one. BUBBA WATSON: It's a perfect hole for me. It sets up for the cut. Wind was right today, so if I hit it straight, somewhat straight, I can get it back there by that pin. That's what I did. I got lucky. I hit a great tee shot there and I two‑putted for the birdie. Q. Defense of your Masters title coming up pretty soon. In the form you're in, you must be excited about that prospect. BUBBA WATSON: Oh, for sure. You know, any time you get to the majors, you get pumped up. Obviously I'm playing good right now with a victory and a second place. So I'm looking to forward to it, looking forward to this weekend first before we get to the Masters. It should be fun. Q. Quick start here today. How important was it to sort of take advantage early at this one, especially you couldn't shake him, he just kept hanging around? BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, that's the key. If you get off to a hot start where you can get a couple shot lead there, a couple hole lead, I guess, then just hang around. I got a good enough lead where he started playing good. He pushed me back, and then I got a good birdie on 15 and then I just played steady after that. Tried to hit the fairways and the greens where he had to make birdies. Luckily, he didn't birdie 18, so I come away with the victory. Q. What does it do confidence‑wise to have that lead? Meet a little resistance from him and play the smart shots, the right shots on a course that can with be a little quirky at times? BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, for sure. It shows. What you are always doing is try to get better and learn. Maybe these shots coming down the stretch I can learn for later matches or for the future golf, for tournaments down the road from now. That's what we're looking at is just trying to improve each day, each week. So far we're doing the right things. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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