Watson keeps level head at PGA Championship round

Associated Press

Sheboygan, Wis.

While other players waited out the fog delay on the driving range or putting green, Bubba Watson played games on his phone and threw things at Rickie Fowler while his good friend was trying to sleep.

There are, Watson knows all too well, more important things to get worked up about than a round of golf.

Even at a major championship.

The fun-loving Watson earned a share of the early lead at the PGA Championship on Thursday, shooting a 4-under 68. Afterward, he choked up talking about the difficult year his family has endured, with his father battling cancer and his wife having a scare of her own.

“It’s kind of emotional now,” Watson said, stopping several times to compose himself. “The first doctor told us the wrong diagnosis, but we didn’t know that at the time, so it was scary. Why do I want to go hit a golf ball around? So that’s where the emotions come from.”

It wasn’t all that long ago that Watson had a different outlook on life. A fan favorite for his booming tee shots and pink-shafted driver (his favorite colors are pink and lime green), he missed five straight cuts last summer, starting at the British Open. Usually good-natured, he found himself getting angry every time he stepped on the course.

Finally, his longtime caddie — and good friend — Ted Scott pulled him aside. Watson needed to take time off, quit, anything to change his attitude.

If not, Scott said, Watson could find a new caddie.