Masters Champion
The dip in form that followed Bubba Watson’s victory at Augusta National in 2012 spilled over into last year. But the flamboyant, long-hitting left-hander has hit the ground running in 2014. Robin Barwick charts his journey to a second Green Jacket
Happy hour: Watson celebrates his second Masters victory with caddie Ted Scott
erhaps the chef in the Grill at Augusta National Golf Club had stopped taking orders, or perhaps Bubba Watson just needed a change of scenery after a week surrounded by Green Jackets and pink azaleas. For whatever reason, just hours after he’d won his second Masters in April, Watson celebrated in a way no previous champion had done before—by taking two tables in the Waffle House on Augusta’s Washington Road. The Waffle House, part of a chain of fast-food joints with plastic seats and laminated menus, is located on a stretch of road that has few redeeming features. As they sat down, Watson Tweeted a ‘selfie’ of himself, his wife
Angie and their friends Judah and Chelsea Smith. The post immediately went viral, with 16,550 re-Tweets. At least he didn’t wear his Green Jacket to the Waffle House. The members of Augusta National, across the road, would have been grateful for that. “I’m not big on fancy food, and wearing a tie is not really comfortable on me,” admitted Watson a few days later, having banked a winner’s cheque for $1.62 million. “So for me it had to be the Waffle House, and who doesn’t love Waffle House? It’s good ole cooking, so I had two grilled cheese sandwiches and smothered hash browns.” It was in keeping with what Watson served up at the 2013 Champions’ Dinner, when tradition dictates the defending champion selects the menu. Watson offered Caesar salad, followed by grilled chicken breast
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the majors 2014
with green beans, mashed potatoes, corn, macaroni and cheese, served with cornbread, and for dessert, confetti cake with vanilla ice cream. Arguably, this was a step up from the burgers and fries that Tiger Woods stipulated a few years ago, a choice that fellow former Masters champion Bernhard Langer described as “unnecessary.” Exchanging the gracious hospitality for which Augusta National’s clubhouse is renowned for the quite different delights of the Waffle House, though, is a paradigm of Watson’s life. This 35-yearold from Bagdad, Florida, likes to keep things simple and unsophisticated. His golf swing looks unsophisticated too, with an uncultured brute of a lefthanded swipe that looks as if it should slice every tee shot not just out of bounds but out of state. But the fact is when Watson’s