Video Link to Morning Drive Appearance:
Bubba Watson’s Surprise Morning Drive Appearance
Hosts Gary Wiliams and Erik Kuselias Recap Watson’s Surprise Appearance:
Williams and Kuselias Recap Watson’s Surprise Appearance
ORLANDO, Fla. (April 10, 2012) – Before starting on his New York media tour after winning the 2012 Masters on Sunday, pro golfer Bubba Watson made his first, post-Masters public appearance with a surprise visit this morning to Golf Channel’s Morning Drive set in Orlando, Fla.
Originally scheduled to join the show by telephone, Watson hid from the hosts Gary Williams and Erik Kuselias until he was introduced and then burst into the studio. Clad in the famous Masters Green Jacket, Watson’s emotional visit included details of his whirlwind day after returning home from Augusta. He also shared recollections of his thrilling playoff victory, as well as sentiments about family, friends, fellow players and becoming a father, which he had not shared publicly before.
Watson, who has made previous guest appearances on the show and also has served as guest co-host, autographed a Masters pin flag displayed on the studio’s wall before he departed.
Watson’s interview can be seen in its entirety on GolfChannel.com: http://www.golfchannel.com/media/morning-drive-bubba-surprise-041012/
Some highlights from the interview:
On whether the victory has sunk in:
“I feel great. I got home about 3 in the morning, slept for a couple of hours, fed my kid. Just a whirlwind. Didn’t really sleep last night because of the kid and everything. Just fun, it’s been a blast. My wife got me off the hook for the next day and a half, so I’m flying up to New York to do all of the TV shows. Should be fun.”
On his first thoughts when he first held Caleb (his new adopted baby) following his Masters victory:
“It still gets to me. It’s too early to be crying. It’s more of an honor to have my son in my arms than a green jacket on. I don’t know how to say that in a nice way, mean way or whatever. It means more to me to feed my son, change his diapers than anything else.”
On his first diaper change when he got home:
“I got three in. I got three in late last night. It’s just amazing to watch this little guy. Only 10 pounds, maybe 11 pounds now.”
On whether he wins the Masters if he didn’t have the perspective of having a child first:
“Great question, who knows. We were going through some struggles at Bay Hill, still finished fourth. Had some questions at Doral, finished second. You know, there was a lot of things that was going on in our lives behind the scenes. So who knows? I believe that it’s all in God’s plan and God just worked it out and somehow just blessed me with confidence in my head and the mental grind to get through it on Sunday.”
Erik Kuselias: You don’t iron the green jacket, I don’t know if you can dry clean it, do you just drop that off and get a ticket? How does that work if you want to clean it?
“I think when you are masters champ, it doesn’t matter. You can have stains on it, nobody is going to say anything.”
On his future plans on wearing the Green Jacket in The General Lee (Watson recently bought the original car from the ‘80s TV show, Dukes of Hazzard):
“The General Lee is out of commission right now. The General Lee is at a custom shop. We are getting it all redone. Getting it all finished up. Not changing anything. Just trying to make it where all the gears work. Where all the gauges work. Put seatbelts in it so it’s legal. Just things like that, so I won’t see that for a few months. I’m not going to do anything funny. I’m not going to do anything bad, because I respect the jacket, I respect the tournament. I respect their feelings and their wishes and honor. So I’m not going to do anything dumb, or real dumb.”
On his fellow PGA TOUR pros and mother following him in the playoff:
“It was big. After 18 in regulation, I saw my mom. I saw my friends. I saw obviously the other golfers. I saw the people there. But I kept my head down. I wanted to stay focused because I had to sign the scorecard and keep playing. I knew that it wasn’t a time to celebrate, we didn’t do anything yet. Second place is great but we still wanted to try to win. When I tapped out, I saw them there. It was an honor. It’s an honor for any of my friends to be there, from my mom to be there. But for the golfers to actually show up after they got done playing, after they finished they can be doing other things, driving to Hilton Head, whatever they were doing. For them to stick around and to go down to the green like that, away from the clubhouse, was a special time. Either they are showing me love, because I needed some love, or they are showing me that they love me and they respect me and respect my character.”
On his conversation with Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III following his Masters win:
“I changed my cell phone number yesterday. I texted Davis Love, told him my new number. He texted me back congratulations and everything. And I said, ‘Now, let’s go win a Ryder Cup.’ I saw that I was first in Ryder Cup points. And hopefully this helps me get closer to a pick if I need it. So I text him right away, saying hey, I want to be there and hopefully we can win this…Why it is so special is that you are representing your country…Anytime you can represent your country and have the flag draped around you or represent the flag is an honor, just like the military. When we support our troops, they represent our flag and our country. It’s an honor to be a part of that.”
On what the Champions Dinner menu could be next year at the Masters:
“It could be Waffle House. I love Waffle House. A grilled cheese from Waffle House and hash browns. If I had a grilled cheese right now. I might stop on the way to the plane we are about to hit.”
On anyone that he was surprised to hear from:
“Mr. Steve Elkington. I saw that he wrote a good tweet about me. That was special.”
On the situation with PGA TOUR player Steve Elkington:
“Before that happened, before it all went down in New Orleans. A few tournaments before, he saw me and we were in a situation. And he said to me – he was talking about young players – they don’t care about winning, they just care about the money. And he looked dead at me, right beside my caddie and he said in two years, you will be selling cars. I took that to heart, it really upset me. Then New Orleans, some stuff upset me, all went down. I apologized for it, I apologized to him. It was special that he wrote something nice about me.”
On his relationship with his late father:
“It was a great relationship. I would never say my dad did anything wrong toward me. He was never too mean on me. Playing golf, playing basketball, playing baseball. He was just different. We didn’t hug it out, we didn’t say I love you until my dad got cancer two and a half years ago. That is the first time we said I love you, first time I hugged him. I hug my mom every time now. I tell her that I love her all of the time. It’s different now. When all that stuff happened to our family, it brought us closer together. It was crazy stuff, sad stuff but my dad would be more proud of who I am off of the golf course than who I am on the golf course.”
-NBC Sports Group-
Looks like Elkington is going to be somewhat of a profit…a few years ago he told Bubba Watson that he would be selling cars in 2 years…I am sure now that Lexus, Ford or some other auto manufaturer will undoubtedly hire Bubba as a spokesman to help sell cars.
Love Bubba Watson!!