“I’m so fearful of things, which I shouldn’t be……..”
So began Bubba Watson in a “60 Minutes” segment that aired Sunday night of Masters week.
The CBS award-winning show gave some honest insight into golf’s living, walking contradiction.
It would almost be easier to list things that Watson isn’t afraid of and that would begin with hitting golf shots under pressure but that is the side that is seen often on television. What 60 Minutes gave was a closer look into what makes Watson tick, albeit a weird, strange type of ticking.
“He’s a physical genius,” said Watson’s caddie — Ted Scott, who perhaps knows Watson as well as a non-family member can. Scott often tells his boss: “They don’t understand you….” and it’s easy to see why.
“I’m just scared of people,” Watson admitted without hesitation. But wait, that’s not all. Here’s how Watson’s interview started:
“I am so fearful of things, which I shouldn’t be, right? Heights, buildings falling on me, scared of crowds, scared of the dark…..I’m just scared of people in general.”
Scott reinforced that. “Everything,” is how he replied when asked about Watson’s phobias.
“I have mental issues,” Watson admitted and that’s something that’s easily recognizable if you’ve watched him over the years.
“The physical game is easy,” said Watson, who is the best shot-shaper in golf.
“He’s a mess, but he is a fun mess,” said Scott, who was once chewed out by Watson at Hartford, with microphones picking up the tirade from Bubba. But Scott defended him. “Eighty percent of the guys (on the PGA Tour) bash their caddie,” proclaimed Scott.
“I gotta get my anger out,” Watson admitted.
Rickie Fowler had his own take on Bubba. “He’s like a 12-year-old kid trapped in an adult body,” explained Fowler, the fifth-ranked player in the world. Watson is just ahead of him at No. 4.
The root of Watson’s problems may have come from his late father. Watson doesn’t trust well. “Good or bad, not to trust, I learned from my dad,” Watson told the world.
The good news is that Augusta National is the perfect atmosphere and the perfect course for Watson.
“Everything he likes,” is how Scott described this week’s Masters. There are no cell phones and this is the most civilized audience in sports. It brings out Watson’s amazing creativity.
“He’s an artist,” said Scott. “I just carry the brushes.”
