Bubba Watson: His Tale Of Struggles? It’s Simply Called Life

“There are two Bubbas, and they exist side by side, engaged in an endless power struggle.  The first is a real life cartoon character — fun-loving, God-fearing, with enough talent to capture his second Masters title with relative ease. The second can be petulant, defensive and not entirely beloved by his fellow tour players — including former teammates at the University of Georgia.  ‘Bubba’s never been friendly with Georgia players, and none of us really have a good relationship with him,’ said fellow Bulldog Brendon Todd.” 

Above is an excerpt from Shane Ryan’s best-seller Slaying The Tiger and it basically revealed what everyone has long known about PGA Tour star Bubba Watson.

So, with some time on his hands and perhaps as an attempt to try and explain what makes him tick, Bubba’s published a book entitled “Up And Down  — Victories And Struggles In The Course Of Life.”  

First things first.  Bubba is not the author.  It takes a lot of time and writing skill to produce a book so this one was basically written by Don Yaeger.  Yaeger is a very accomplished author.  He was once an editor at Sports Illustrated and Yaeger has published 11 New York Times Bestsellers.  So no, this is not a book written by Bubba Watson but rather a book about Bubba Watson with some input from Bubba.

What it did require Bubba to do was open up a lot and not hit us with the shovels of bullshit that he’s thrown around during the course of his career.  Yes, this is the Bubba Watson who told the golf world that he’d retire after 10 Tour wins.  That was back around 2014 when he won the WGC-HSBC event.  This is the same Bubba Watson who now has a dozen Tour wins, including two Masters titles — 2012 and 2014.

The fact of the matter is Bubba’s supposed to be talking about mental health and it was pretty apparent well into his career that Bubba had mental issues.  It’s not far fetched that Bubba probably registers on the bipolar spectrum.  Just look at Brendon Todd’s description:  “fun-loving, God-fearing one moment then petulant, defensive.”   Most of us who have observed Bubba know that his emotions can turn in a moment and he can become surly and unlikeable to the point where it was common knowledge that he was and has been secretly voted one of the least-liked players on the PGA Tour.

Let’s face it, it’s very vogue these days to mention mental health among athletes.  But there’s nothing special to it.  It’s called LIFE.  And within all of our lives, you, me, your friends, neighbors, co-workers – heck everyone on God’s green earth has a life’s story that’s filled with ups and downs.  It’s called Welcome To Life — life in and of itself is filled with our small victories and our soul-crushing struggles.

Bubba’s also been fortunate enough to overcome his demons long enough to get those double-digit wins on the PGA Tour, including the two Green Jackets.  Yes, Bubba’s “struggles” have earned him a sensational living, a high-end life style and a net worth in the $30-to-$40 million range.  At the tender age of 43, Bubba will never have to worry about where his next meal is coming from.  He’s accumulated enough monetary wealth to take care of his next three generations.

But wealth doesn’t equate to happiness.  When I was very young, still in college, I met Josh Reynolds at a Muhammad Ali fight.  He was the heir to the Reynolds Tobacco fortune — Josh was worth hundreds of millions of dollars yet I saw him sitting by himself in a bar.  My college roommates from Winston Salem pointed him out to me.  I felt sorry for him.  I just went up, introduced myself and proceeded to see if I could make him smile.  It took a while, eventually I got big smile out of him.  Josh had a Ferrari collection,  heck, when you’re Josh Reynolds, you could have anything you want.  But in him I saw a sad soul.

Josh died at age 60 back in 1994.  And I wonder to this day if happiness eluded him his entire life.

For 10 years as a sports writer, I met and hung out with some very high profile athletes.  The common dominator is that like the rest of us, they are very human and face very real struggles like the rest of us.  It just happens that money is typically not one of those struggles for most of them.

Today’s world is becoming more complex by the hour.  It’s tough out there.  Between physical and mental health issues, life can be a daunting experience.

But what Bubba failed to realize is that he is not alone in his struggles.

We all have struggled at one point or another.  I remember when I first stepped into the newsroom at the old (now defunct) Tampa Tribune, back then they told me that the newspaper business led all  professions in divorce, alcoholism and heart disease.  Yeah, wow, welcome to the world of journalism, Tommy!

So mental health in athletes?  Well, attention should be paid to everyone’s mental health these days.

All I can tell you is this:

As you go through this journey we call life — BE NICE — it just might help someone be a bit healthier, mentally.

We’ll leave you with (and this is for you too, Bubba) this excerpt from the Jimmy Buffett song “Fruitcakes”:

Fruitcakes in the galaxy, 
Fruitcakes on the earth, 
Struttin’ naked towards eternity
We’ve been that way since birth
Half-baked cookies in the oven,
Half-baked people on the bus,
There’s a little bit of fruitcake left in everyone of us