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By John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributer

Bubba Watson walked up to the first tee Sunday with a three-stroke lead in the final round of the Shell Houston Open. You would expect the long-knocking Bubba to be nervous. He had his best opportunity to earn his first PGA TOUR victory. How was he to know that a pair of Aussies were going to come out firing like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday at the OK Corral?

Bubba Watson was cool as a cucumber before starting his final round. (Cox/WireImage)

One of my colleagues at the PGA TOUR Network on XM Satellite Radio, Michael Collins, was there when Bubba came to the tee. The two have been friends for a long time. Under the circumstances you would think that Michael would wish Bubba luck and Bubba would hardly acknowledge the sentiment. That is the way it usually is on the first tee with the final group.

But this is Bubba Watson and Michael Collins. Bubba walked over to Michael and took the microphone and headset from him and started talking. In the studio we did not realize Bubba had taken the headset as well as the microphone. In other words, we did not realize that he could hear us. Bubba asked, on air, "What, doesn't anyone want to talk to me?"

Flabbergasted, we wished him well. He laughed and urged us to ask him a question. Finally, Doug Bell asked him if his real name was Bubba. In the PGA TOUR media guide it does not give any other first name than Bubba. His response, with another laugh, was "as far as you boys know."

The repartee was not particularly dazzling but the situation was certainly unique. Bubba is a big boy from the panhandle of Florida who is enjoying every minute of his PGA TOUR experience. Fuzzy Zoeller is the only other player I can think of who might have done what Bubba did before he teed off .

As the day progressed Bubba had plenty of opportunity to loose his cool. It didn't happen. As a matter of fact, walking off the 12th green he grabbed the microphone once again from Michael just to say hello.

There are strict rules about the media interviewing players during a round. It is forbidden. However, there is no rule about the players interviewing the media.

Dr. Coop, the famed sports psychologist, always told me that you should play to your personality. Bubba has plenty of personality and a huge amount of talent. In the end. the happy-go-lucky Bubba birdied the final hole, the toughest on the golf course, and finished in a tie for second.

His personality is a complete departure from what we are used to seeing on the PGA TOUR. He has handled his new-found fame gracefully. Furthermore, he has shown us that as much fun as it is to watch him pound those 320-yard drives, it is nowhere near his most entertaining quality.