Michaux: Better health, frame of mind puts Bubba Watson in good place ahead of Masters

Bubba Watson will not read this story. It’s not personal, but it’s intentional.

“I don’t look at any media, any news,” Watson said. “I don’t know what’s going on in the government. I quit it. I gave it up.”

So presumably, Bubba from Bagdad, Fla., is not familiar with the latest Trump feud with Amazon or the #MeToo movement or the March For Our Lives or the latest celebrity gossip.

He’s also seemingly unaware that his name is getting brought up more and more as a favorite to win this week’s Masters Tournament. All he knows is that he’s in a happy place – both in his life and at Augusta National.

“So really it’s about life,” the two-time Masters winner said. “My life’s in a great spot. Golf sometimes makes it in a bad spot, but I’m just in a right frame of mind and I understand what I want to do with my life and where I want to go in my life.”

That was certainly not the case before Watson emerged from a two-year career spiral that had him contemplating quitting golf along with all media. As recently as February, the former No. 4 golfer in the world had dropped to 117th and didn’t have much reason to ever find his name in the media.

Health issues dropped the 6-foot-3 Watson to about 160 pounds. With his lost weight came lost strength. With his lost strength came lost confidence. With his lost confidence came being lost in golf’s wilderness with seemingly little prospect of his former shot-making brilliance.

“I've never been in a bad mood and won a golf tournament,” he said.

Before winning at Riviera seven weeks ago and then cruising to the WGC Match Play title in his last start, Watson couldn’t have imagined sitting on the dais at Augusta National being asked questions about the strong possibility of winning his third green jacket in six years.

“We’ll say seven months ago I did not believe it,” he said, crediting his wife, caddie, managers and everyone else on his team for not letting him give up on himself. “They have cheered me on and they have helped me come out of a dark place.”

Watson can’t pinpoint where exactly he entered that “dark place,” but it probably can be traced back to late 2016 when despite being the No. 7 golfer in the world he was left off the American Ryder Cup team.

“So from that downfall of the letdown of not making the team and then to get sick, to lose all this weight, just family drama of my son starting school, my wife having surgery – five screws and a small plate in her leg – just all these things added in, never knowing if you’re going to make it again,” he said.

“I was at the lowest. My whole life, I was probably at the lowest when it comes to golf. Not lowest in my life but lowest in the career of golf, yes. It was the lowest point I’ve ever been at in the game of golf.”

Watson’s wife, Angie, made the more forceful intervention into his spiraling mood as he admittedly considered giving up golf.

“I was close; my wife was not close,” he said. “My wife basically told me to quit whining and play golf. She’s a lot tougher than I am.”

Watson stopped whining and played some inspired golf to win at Riviera for the third time – notching his 10th career victory which had long been his goal. Two weeks later he posted a top-10 in the WGC Mexico. Then two weeks ago he plowed through the field in the Match Play in Austin and he returns to Augusta back in the top 20 again.

“Again, life’s in the right spot and golf’s in the right spot,” he said. “Golf is really easy when you free it up. It’s very difficult when you’re not thinking properly.”

The combination of Watson’s mood and the imaginative and instinctive nature of Bubba golf can pose a lethal combination for the rest of the field in a place like Augusta National. It’s a recipe for success – what Watson calls the “kid-in-the-candy store” effect that often afflicts Masters champions.

“So no matter where I am, I always feel like I have a chance at Augusta because it’s always in perfect shape and you get excited around that place,” he said.

Watson has weathered whatever internal storm drove his career to the brink of collapse. He won’t dwell on any of it, carving his life into forward-thinking six-month chunks in an attempt to always strive for improvement.

Regardless of how this week turns out – whether he wins another green jacket or misses the cut – Bubba is back for the long haul.

“I’m not going to retire,” he said. “I’ve got two more years guaranteed now so I’m going to last two more at least. ... And I’m going to be at Augusta until they kick me out.”