I had the pleasure of watching the Masters final round on Easter Sunday with my family and found myself mesmerized by the beauty and majesty of Augusta. You could see the blades of grass and sun shimmer off the water. It made me feel as if I was there. They had me hooked just from the golf course itself coupled with it being a major golf tournament.
I am not your typical golf viewer. I am admittedly a very average golf fan when it comes to tuning in to a tournament on television. If there is a major; however, then I am going to watch. I am going to hit refresh on my computer to update the leaderboard. This is what the powers that be want from their fans. They want them tuning in every week to watch their product. This has always been the case in the past and will be in the future.
This was the situation when Arnold Palmer had Arnie's Army and Jack Nicklaus' fans were cheering on the "Golden Bear". Who doesn't tune into a golf tournament when Tiger Woods is at or atop the leaderboard? We want to have interesting people to root for and at times the sport has even tried to create rivalries to make it intriguing. I don't know how many golfers I have heard about when it comes to Tiger versus Mickelson, Garcia, etc. America loves a good rivalry and they love unusual people.
I can remember watching the PGA Championship in 1991 when the sport introduced the most unlikely hero and professional athlete ever when John Daly hit the scene. He looked like he should be hanging outside the local bar or driving a semi truck. How appropriate that he landed on the national stage winning a major tournament at a golf course named Crooked Stick. Daly didn't exactly follow the straight and narrow. He was a mega long hitter and didn't take things seriously. He marched to the beat of his own drum. He was quick to light up a cigar or take a swig of his tasty beverage of choice. America ate it up. He had arrived and the sport had someone the casual fan could tune into every week and say, "What did John Daly do?"
This is where the sport is about to go after watching Bubba Watson win the Masters on Sunday. He is similar to John Daly in the respect that he isn't what golf has always been. He last had a golf lesson when he was 10 years old. He was taught to swing by his late father and has just continued to play golf. It is that simple. In a game that is frustrating for everyone he seems to just tune it out and play. For crying out loud the man's name is BUBBA! You can't get anymore regular than that! In the age of specialization and needing a coach for just about all aspects of the game he defies logic. He doesn't need that. He just plays.
Daly used to say, "Grip it and Rip it!".
Bubba says, "If I've got a swing, I got a shot!"
I love that! He doesn't give in to conventional wisdom. He just plays the game.
Watching him play and listening to his already large fan base makes me want to continue to follow him the same way I followed Daly. He makes things interesting in sport where it can be very boring and old fashioned. He is a hipper version of the sport. He is not only a wonderful player but also a great person. This is where he separates himself from Daly. He played this weekend with a pink driver to bring awareness to cancer. He wore white clothes this weekend to bring awareness to special needs kids. He brought awareness to his cause and did so with class. This ability to capture America while climbing through the leaderboard and defying the odds to win in a two hole playoff. He was asked after winning and sitting with last years winner if this is what he dreamed of and he mentioned it never got that far. I think he dreamt of winning major tournaments but never dreamt what it would be like after winning.
Seeing the larger size of his fans in the galleries.
Hearing the louder cheers of his fans the crowd.
Putting on a Green Jacket will do that.
Now we just sit back and tune in!
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