Fifteen minutes before we are going on air, Bubba Watson is politely asking our makeup person Mary Ann what she is doing combing his hair.
Photo by Adam Jeffery for CNBC.com
Bubba Watson, Darren Rovell
“I don’t need that,” Watson tells her. “I’m Bubba, Masters champion, that’s how my hair looks.”
That, in a nutshell, is what makes Bubba Watson the most refreshing golfer on the PGA Tour, in a long time. Nah, make that ever.
Photo by Adam Jeffery for CNBC.com
Bubba Watson, Darren Rovell
Named Gerry (pronounced Gary) for mere seconds before his father gave him the name Bubba because he looked like a football player, Watson might be the perfectly created marketing machine because he represents something so different from the norm.
He’s happy to be Bubba (“Gerry is boring) and, whether he knows it works for marketing or not, that’s who he is.
“I haven’t changed who I am, who my character is or what I do on and off the golf course,” Watson said on CNBC. “I’m Bubba, for me it’s just natural.”
Even though he was in his very formal fitted Masters green jacket, he wanted to play before the interview.
So he asked if he could slip behind the anchors as they were going to break.
Save for John Daly, it has hard for the average golfer to see themselves in a professional golfer.
Watson, though, is a different story. His club sponsor, PING, was pushed to make pink drivers after so many had asked for them following Watson’s Masters performance using the odd shade.
Photo by Adam Jeffery for CNBC.com
Bubba Watson, Darren Rovell
Don’t be surprised if companies that never advertised in golf take a chance on Bubba.
He truly is the “everyman.”
When he said he never bought a suit, I asked him about his dress shirt and shoes he wore to the CNBC studios.
“Got them from the people at the President’s Cup,” Watson responded.
When asked what will be served at his Champions Dinner at the Masters next year, Watson said he narrowed it down to three.
Watson deadpanned: “Waffle House, Chipotle, Lexington Barbecue or In-N-Out.”
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