Big-hitting Watson in contention for first TOUR win

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Bubba Watson grabbed a share of the lead after 36 holes with a 7-under 65 on Friday.

CHARLOTTE -- He might be thinking about washing his white car with the black rims, or how he wants to buy some new tennis shoes, preferably with bright colors.

On Friday it was a golf course in Ohio that he wants to sneak off and play -- a month from now during the Memorial Tournament. Only Bubba Watson was in the process of shooting 65 and climbing into a tie for the lead at the Quail Hollow Championship.

So it's up to Watson's caddy, Ted Scott, to bring him back to reality.

"He's like, shut up, let's talk about this putt right now. We're here," a grinning Watson said, his words tumbling out of his mouth rapid-fire. "I'm like, yeah, but this (other) golf course is so much fun."

Quail Hollow was pretty entertaining on Friday, though. Watson blazed through the front nine, his second of the day, with a record-tying 30 and sprinted -- just like he likes to play the game -- to the top of the board in a tie with Retief Goosen at 8 under.

The big-hitting Watson, who is looking for his first TOUR win, only hit four fairways on Friday as he averaged 316 yards off the tee. He led the field in greens in regulation, though, as well as in distance to the pin with his approach shots.

His physical skills aren't in question. But Watson knows he needs to find a way to remain focused over four rounds if he's to join two other Milton (Fla.) High alums, Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley, in the winner's circle.

"I think I'm good enough to win," said Watson. "I might never win, who knows? ... But it's my mental game. ... I can hit driver as far as I want, I can hit driver as short as I want. I can chip and putt if I want to.

"It's just am I physically and mentally going to be ready to play golf? Am I going to be mentally in the game?"

To say Watson's mind wanders would be an understatement. And when rounds last four or five hours on the PGA TOUR, there's plenty of time for those thoughts to multiply and take Watson off of his game.

"I don't know the last time I shot in the 70s playing with my buddies or playing at home," Watson said. "I've shot in the 60s all the time because I'm in a cart, playing as fast as I want and moving around the golf course. I don't have time to think about which way the wind is blowing, I just hit the ball.

"That's what my caddie wants me to do. The mental part is just hard. It's hard for me because I didn't listen in school. I didn't graduate college until last year, so that's a seven-year layoff. Just for me to focus for that long is just hard."

Watson took what he called simply a "hard test" to get his degree in consumer economics from Georgia in 2008. He didn't even want to know the grade -- just whether he passed or failed, saying "that's all that matters."

Watson had already earned more than $4 million in three years on TOUR, but he wanted that sheepskin because he is active in junior golf and various charities.

"And for me to tell kids to go to school, they might not make it as a pro athlete, whatever the sport is, or a big-time lawyer, whatever, I just felt wrong for telling them that and then not having a degree," Watson said.

"I had a two-year degree from junior college, but I felt like I needed to show them that I could go back to school, and it's the hardest thing I've ever done."

Watson says there have been times when he's considered taking medication to help him maintain his focus on the golf course. He decided against it, though, because he wants to do things on his own.

"My dad is from the military, Green Beret Special Forces, and he said that's a crutch," Watson said. "Doctors are crutches, so you've got to figure out a way to do it on your own. That's why I've never had a lesson, never talked to a mental coach, never talked to a nutritionist, never talked to anything.

"I play golf because I love it, and if I couldn't play golf, if I started playing terrible then I'd just quit and find something else to do, help the First Tee or something."

Watson is a frequent practice round partner of Tiger Woods, who will start the third round one stroke behind the leaders. He admits that he gets nervous when the cameras come out, but he knows he needs to learn to handle it better.

Saturday's 1:50 tee time would be a good place to start.

"I'm trying every day to be the best golfer that ever walked this planet," Watson said. "That's what I want to do. But my whole life is not based on that. I'm not going to flip out and go pout in my room if I never become that, or if I never win. ...

"I might pout walking up to the 18th hole because I'm playing bad, but once I putt out my last putt, I'm the happiest guy in the world. I don't think about my golf, I could care less. If I shoot 59 tomorrow and I'm winning, it's no big deal, I'm going to act just like everybody else does.

"It's just fun being out here and fun that somebody wanted to talk to me."