Golf
Watson offers Tiger advice
2011-05-05 09:03
North Carolina - Bubba Watson's favourite memory from two years ago at Quail Hollow wasn't how close he came to winning.
"That was the first time I beat Tiger Woods," Watson said on Wednesday. "And you can tell him that."
That kind of celebration for besting Woods is fading these days as it becomes more routine. And Watson thinks he knows why Woods is struggling: too much thinking.
"I'll just go ahead and say it. I think Tiger's going the wrong way," Watson said. "I think he's so mental right now with his swing. Just go ahead and play golf. He used to hit shots, he used to bomb it, he used to do all that stuff.
"In 1997, I think he did pretty good. He won the Masters by 48 shots, whatever he won it by."
Woods' last victory came at the Australian Masters in 2009. That was followed by a sex scandal, coaching changes, swing tinkering and now another left knee injury at the Masters last month that forced him to skip this week's tournament.
Woods, who won at Quail Hollow in 2007, finished fourth in 2009, two strokes behind winner Sean O'Hair and one behind Watson.
"When he came off he saw me standing right there and I was smiling," Watson said about Woods. "He said, 'I know.' He knew that I beat him for the first time."
Most of the field beat Woods last year, when he missed the cut with his highest 36-hole score. His struggles have led some to question whether he'll get the five more major championship titles needed to break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18.
"Sometimes I think a lot of the great players, they get too wrapped up in the mental part," Watson said.
The carefree Watson, who won his second title of the year last weekend at New Orleans in a playoff, has never spent much time worrying about his swing or mechanics.
"When you start talk about other people trying to help you with your swing, look at this, look at that, I think they take a step back. So I'm hoping they all get coaches," Watson said, smiling. "Come on, Rickie (Fowler), get you a coach."