Bubba Watson concedes he won't win Masters this year

Bubba Watson cut the small talk short following his third round Saturday at the Masters Tournament.

“You don’t have to sugarcoat it, I’m out of it,” he said, laughing with reporters. “But I’ve got two of them so I’ll be able to sleep OK tonight.”

The two-time Masters champion and former University of Georgia golfer had only five pars, but finished with a 1-over-par 73.

“That just shows how close I am,” he said. “I made a lot of birdies.”

The defending champion carded seven birdies, including three in a row after triple-bogeying the first hole.

That’s not how he wanted to start the day, entering 12 strokes behind leader Jordan Spieth and in need of a low score.

Watson’s third shot on No. 1 plugged into the lip of the bunker and he had to hit backwards to set up a shot at the green. He later missed a short putt.

“When you miss your six-footers here you’re not going to do so well,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been doing all week. I haven’t been making all the putts I’ve needed to make.”

His miss on No. 1 led to his fourth three-putt of the tournament. Spieth, meanwhile, didn’t have a three-putt until his 40th hole.

“You’re at a major championship, and you’re going to have some balls that are going to go your way,” Watson said.

With Spieth so far ahead Saturday, Watson seemed at ease to wave the white flag. But there’s still plenty of motivation to shoot a good score Sunday, Watson said.

“It’s preparing for that next major, maybe next year here,” he said. “After last year I shot 74 on Saturday and still won. It’s about preparing. You never know a situation you’re going to have, what emotions you’re going to have, so it’s about preparing for next time.”