Brunch with Bubba and G/Fore

A thin and super chilled Bubba

Just before The Open we had an invite that we just had to accept. A brunch, hosted by G/Fore, with Bubba Watson. Here's what we found out about the man.

First off, Bubba has lost quite a bit of weight, which some are saying has contributed to his recent loss of form. But he did have a OKish Open, finishing T27 on +1. With a £48,750 pay cheque, he'll have covered his airfares and expenses, and made a bit of pocket money as well, but nothing akin to when he won his two Majors.

Bubba is intensely relaxed as Di Dougherty takes him through his paces. He kicks of with the fact that he's not just a golf fan, but a massive baseball fan as well, and is now the proud owner of minor league team the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He's also got a sweet shop, called the Sweet Spot, and he's looking at franchising that.

Di Dougherty turns on the charm

There's plenty going on for Bubba off the course, but his real focus is on his 'queen', Mrs Bubba, and their two young children. They want a lof Bubba time, and you can sense that this is where Bubba's heart totally lies.

Bubba has been married to Angie since 2004, and she is both taller and slightly older than him. She also told him on their first date, that she could not conceive, but that did not stop Bubba from marrying her, which in itself says a lot about the qualities of the man. And now they have two adopted children, Caleb and Dakota. Lovely work! 

Bubba didn't rule out retiring after his next win, which he first threatened to do after his last Masters victory, and you do feel that there's a lot more going on in his life than just golf. But he still has ambitions in the game, and 100% wants to be a Ryder Cup captain, which is quality.

When asked why he wore G/Fore gloves, Watson joked: “The coloured gloves I love. I mean, why not have some fun? Golf is pretty boring."

Golf boring? Well Bubba thinks so, and that the main reason is that the fields are just too big, with 156 players teeing off at every event, which leads to five hour plus rounds.

"I’m like, ‘what are we doing?’ Who wants to play for five hours? I’ve got sleeping and stuff I’ve got to do."

“So first up, we’ve got to speed up and the only way I think we can do that in professional golf is to cut fields. 156 players in one field is just too many, you can’t do it.”

It's hardly a call that will be popular with his fellow Pros, especially those of a more journeyman nature, but it shows a refreshing independence of thought.  

In this thirty minute session, Bubba dispelled a lot of myths, and was charm personified. I hope he stays with the game a whole lot longer, and gets that call to be Ryder Cup captain. He has the passion, and the self-belief to do a job.

Bubba's new footie fan club

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