bubba watson

What they said: Bubba Watson

bubba watson

MORE INTERVIEWS: Farmers Insurance Open transcript archive

Q. What did you hit in on 18?

BUBBA WATSON: I hit a 7-iron. A perfect 7-iron, perfect distance. Just tried to fly it on the front. As long as we put it on the front, we were fine because it should bounce up there. It bounced up there pretty nice, and actually flew farther than we expected it to. But I knew it came off the club face good when I hit it.

Q. What happened on the green? What did Rickie say to you about dinner?

BUBBA WATSON: Rickie said he's buying dinner.

Q. That's not what Rickie said. You better stop lying (laughing).

BUBBA WATSON: Rickie came up to me and said, just go ahead and finish with a 3 three. And I said, if I make it, I'll buy dinner tonight. He's got his girlfriend, couple friends, my wife, probably my caddie will show up. Probably ten or 11 of us now I've got to buy dinner for.

Q. I'm coming too.

BUBBA WATSON: No, no, this ain't a buffet (laughing).

Q. Come on, man, tell me about your round. A little bit up-and-down, but you just hung in there and hung in there?

BUBBA WATSON: I don't know what the stats are, but it seemed like I hit a lot of greens, made a lot of good shots. Three-putted a couple, missed a couple of putts that I hit really good. I just didn't get the ball in the hole.

And then my caddie, you know, I hit a shot on 8 and he said, hang in there. You never know. You've got a lot of golf left. It's just like Travelers where I ended up winning after I was way down. He said you've got a lot of golf left. And I somehow made a birdie and made the eagle.

Q. You've been working on staying patient? It seemed like today you were really just staying patient?

BUBBA WATSON: I've changed my attitude. I'm trying to change my attitude and trying to get better. At the same time my goal is to shoot even par better every round. No matter what the leaderboard is, no matter how far down I am -- I mean, I'm losing by. Just to shoot even par better every round. At the end of the year, if you did that, you'll be playing pretty good.

Q. You've been playing pretty good so far. Any luck getting Phil to Twitter?

BUBBA WATSON: He actually brought it up. Now that you mention it, he brought it up talking about us young guys and Twitter and Facebook and all that stuff.

But we didn't ask, because he obviously didn't know much about it. You could tell by the way he was talking about it. So, no, he's still not going to Twitter.

Q. You're 11 under on the tournament. How about that eagle on the 18th hole? What happened?

BUBBA WATSON: That was huge. I hit a great tee shot down the middle. Knew I was going to have a short iron in. Worked out that I had 7-iron, flushed it, hit it perfect and ended up about 20 feet away. And hit a great putt and got it to roll in.

Q. What will you think about now overnight?

BUBBA WATSON: Same thing. Stay patient, a lot of things didn't go my way, but I ended up with a birdie three and eagle three for 3-under. So just keep doing that. I can't control what the other guys do. Phil and them play good, I can't control that.

Q. Not a bad finish for you. How do you feel going into tomorrow?

BUBBA WATSON: I feel great. I finished with a birdie and an eagle after a slow start, so I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait. I Hope to come out on top tomorrow with a three, three again.

Q. What happened (Indiscernible)?

BUBBA WATSON: The rough. It's a long course, first of all, and then the high rough is always hard. The greens are firm almost like a U.S. Open back a couple of years ago. So it's just always a good test of golf no matter how the wind blows. It's just a tough golf course either way you look at it.

Q. On 16, your target couldn't have been lower, on 18 you couldn't have been higher. Talk about on 16 what happened there?

BUBBA WATSON: I hit a terrible 5-iron. I wanted to hit a 4-iron, but I went for 5 for some reason. Just a bad golf swing, tough lie. Standing in the bunker, the ball was above my feet.

You know, again it was a bogey, but my caddie kept pumping me up and telling me don't worry about it. You never know what's going to happen. So I birdied the next hole, and he's like, see. And then I eagled, and he's like, see. Now he thinks he's smart.

ernie els

Ernie Els : US Open Golf Final Round

0058 Ernie still lurking in the long grass but his third onto the par five 14th stopped on the greeen in birdie range but then rolls all the way back down and around the corner leaving him with a very tricky up and down to find par. And then Mickelson does the exact same thing. 

 

0055 Great scenes as golfing legend Tom Watson makes his way onto the 18th green. Tears in his eyes as it is likely to be his swan song at the US Open. And wouldn’t you know, Watson almost chips in from the greenside bunker. You the man, Tom.

gregory havret

Gregory Havret - A French Golfer Rises Above the Fray

Just before going into the final round at the 2010 US Open, Gregory Havret updated his facebook status:

"merci a tous.. sincerement, je ne sais pas trop a quoi m attendre, ce qui est sur c est que je me donnerai comme jamais jusqu au dernier shot, j espere vs faire vibrer autant que je vibre!! bises"

In other words;

"Thank you everyone. I don't really know what to expect, but what I do know, for sure, is that I'm going to give it everything I've got till the last shot. I hope I'll make this as exciting for you as it is for me."

Oh, and, "kisses". He added "kisses" which probably seems odd to the average American but.. cultural nuance... not to a Frenchman.

At that point Greg was getting ready to meet Tiger Woods, his playing partner for the final round. There were multiple comments from Facebook friends with whimsical French names: "Aller Greg!" and "Vas y Greg ! On est avec toi!!" ... and one from me: "Go Greg!!!!" ~ And in the end Greg was prodigious.

Dustin Johnson... who held the lead going into the final round and had the kind of youth, cool and Pebble-Beach-pedigree that made him a "sure bet" prediction for many... floundered. Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Tiger Woods struggled valiantly but couldn't put it all together. So it was that Gregory Havret, who qualified for his first US Open with a 50 foot putt in a playoff, found himself the lone challenger to Graeme McDowell on the final hole. Alas his final putt for birdie came up short which left McDowell needing only par to win, which he ultimately did.

But for Gregory Havret the experience was certainly inoubliable as in, unforgettable, and though a part of his heart is surely broken to have come so close, overall he must be very happy.

There's a huge potential for golf to grow in France... with the sport now part of the Olympics, and with France bidding for the 2018 Ryder Cup... and what Gregory accomplished at Pebble Beach will certainly be great for the future of the sport.

Graeme McDowell

graeme mcdowell

After winning the 5th European tour victory Graeme McDowell has entered the 110th United States open Championship which had a kick started yesterday. The player had a four stroke lead against Johnson and gradually came to a midway lead. The golfer opened the game with a major victory in mind and couldn’t stand much against Johnson. The 110th United States open at the Pebble beach experienced some heavy winds and McDowell still made a outstanding two stroke lead against the opponents. Last week Graeme McDowell showed an impressive performance where he won the Wales open by 3 shots. The Irish golfer started his professional career in 2002 and since then he had achieved five professional wins. His first major win was the Volvo Scandinavian Masters with a margin of one stroke. The golfer scored two victories in 2008 which included Ballantine’s Championship and Barclays Scottish Open.

The pro golfer might take away the United States Open this year according to the situation in which he has a two stroke lead until now. The Irish golfer has high hopes of winning this years title after an outstanding game yesterday. The golfer scored three holes and while all hopes is on Graeme McDowell to restore the national image of England. The Irish golfer has a tough competition against Dustin Johnson who has recently won the Pebble beach National Pro Am title. The golfer entered the PGA in 2005 after he scored a place in the top fifty world Gold rankings. He couldn’t have a victory at the PGA and returned to the European three years back.

Tiger Woods US Open

Tiger Woods’ U.S. Open secret weapon: Memory

Is Tiger Woods toast as a golfer? If you read the commentary leading up to the U.S. Open, which begins today, you might think so. The New York Times analysis from earlier this week sums up the general mood around the man:

At the point in the season when he was once the most focused, Woods is adrift, uncertain. He has taken to going on about how limited competitive exposure has put his game at an early-season stage while most players are in midseason form.

It’s all in the head … “Golf is a game of the mind — and Tiger’s ain’t there yet,” says San Francisco Chronicle’s Scott Jenkins. “I think Tiger will be losing the mental game this week, and for many weeks to come.”

Yes, it is mental. But that is Tiger’s secret weapon this week–a part of his mind that has been nothing but a nuisance until now–his memory. Ten years ago Tiger completely destroyed the competition to win the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, the same tournament and venue Woods will play this weekend. He ran away from the field by 15 strokes in what was arguably the greatest year of golf any individual ever played.

Yes, living up to the memory of that tournament might psych Tiger out, which is probably what most sports pundits are thinking will happen this weekend. But there’s another element of memory that’s less obvious. Not only is Pebble Beach a place where Woods dominated, it’s also a very distinctive course. It looks different than any other, the sounds and smells are unique. All of this implicit memory, the stuff we don’t consciously consider, can have a profound impact on athletes. A study in the late 1980s showed that athletes become athletically prepared (ie, their heart rates rise) when they see images connected to competition. Later studies concluded that athletes who conjure more vivid imagery perform better–Woods certainly can summon vivid images on this course.

But a key question this weekend is whether those memories spark “internal” imagery–remembering from the perspective of self–or “external” imagery. If Woods has been seeing himself through the eyes of others, it’s not hard to figure out why. Shame has that effect and it is generally considered a negative for athletes. Pebble Beach holds no such negatives for Woods. He has almost always played well there. It might even be a place he considers “safe,” which could encourage internal imagery.

If none of this turns out to be a help to Woods, then Jenkins could be right, he’s a wreck in his head. And perhaps that is what he should be as he reconstructs his life. But I have a suspicion Woods was looking towards this weekend all spring. Everything leading up to the Open, including the Masters, was about working out the kinks in his stroke. And by the way, he has not played all that poorly in most of the tournaments. But I think his real return begins now.