Lessons learned from Woods paying big dividends for Watson

Bubba Watson says he follows Tiger Woods around during his famous early-morning rounds, peppering the world No. 1 with questions, “like a little dog chasing at a bulldog.” This weekend, the answers to those questions are paying off big. 

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

OAKMONT, Pa. -- They couldn't be more different in prestige or pedigree, but Bubba Watson is among those players fortunate enough to get to join Tiger Woods in some of those pre-dawn practice rounds of his.

Watson peppers the game's No. 1 player with a multitude of questions "like a little dog chasing at a bulldog," he says. "I'm just nipping at his heels to see how he works and how he ticks." The two, in fact, had a date earlier this week at Oakmont Country Club.

"He always talks about his wins and I always talk about how far I hit it," says Watson, who leads the PGA TOUR in driving distance, with a big smile. "You can practice and win tournaments, but you can't practice and hit it farther ... that's what I always tell him, but he doesn't listen very much.

"He always talks about majors and all that stuff."

Small wonder. And hopefully, Watson was listening because he goes into Saturday's third round with a chance to make the 107th U.S. Open the first victory of his career. The unassuming 28-year-old from tiny Bagdad, Fla., is one stroke off the lead held by Angel Cabrera and four strokes ahead of Woods.

"It's great. I just watch his mannerisms and see how he goes through his practice and what he does," said Watson, who is bidding to become the second straight Nationwide Tour graduate to win a major championship. "This week I asked him what he writes on his yardage book in every hole on the green."

One question Watson needs to put to Woods, though, is how he deals with pressure ... and soon. Watson, who won't tee off until 3:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, said he'll probably feel like throwing up on every hole.

"I think he said one time in an interview that he gets nervous but he uses that because he knows the guy next to him is nervous, too," Watson said. "If you're not really nervous, you're not trying. I have to figure out a way to harness that and use it to my advantage.

"Until I learn that, I'm going to be sick every day, I guess."

Woods isn't sure he can help Watson calm those butterflies churning in his stomach, though.

"That's part of the learning process, isn't it?" the 12-time major champion said. "We've all had to do that. ... You've got to figure out what works best for you. That's the hard part.

"I know I can't be as stoic as Hogan, and I can't talk as much as Trevino. You have to be your own person."

Watson is definitely his own man in most regards, though. He's distinctive for the pink shaft on his driver and all those bombs that it launches down the fairway. At the same time, Watson just might be this year's Jason Gore.

Decidedly down-home and down-to-earth, Watson calls Bagdad a "little piece of heaven" in the Florida Panhandle. The town is so safe, his parents never lock the doors of their house and they let Watson walk to school by himself.

He played on the same high school team with Heath Slocum, a two-time winner on TOUR, and Boo Weekley, who picked up his first victory earlier this year. Weekley was his playing partner in the first two rounds at Oakmont this week.

"He's impressed me," Weekley said. "He's really kept his cool and hit every shot well. He's played his butt off."

The two had never played together before in competition on TOUR. Watson said there's a comfort zone there in knowing they are both feeling the same pressure ... even if his thoughts stray to video games while Weekley is more likely to think about fishing.

"Every day we step on the PGA TOUR, we've come a long way," Watson said. "We think about it every week."

Despite the fact that their age difference is just three years, the worldly Woods sees Watson as a "great kid" with tons of talent.

"If he would just learn to play strategically, he's got the power," Woods said. "You can't teach power but you can teach strategies, and he's got the ability to tone it back and play different shots. ... He likes to shape shots, and that's a missing art these days."

Watson has never had a swing coach. He learned the game from his father, a Green Beret who could break 90 on a good day and was right-handed while his son plays from the left. His father told him just to concentrate on hitting the ball as far as he could "and we'll figure out the rest after that," Watson said.

"My whole career -- junior golf, college, mini-tour, Nationwide Tour and here -- every year I've gotten better," Watson said. "Each year is a stepping stone, me doing it by myself with no training, no coaches, and that's how I judge it."

At Oakmont come Sunday, Watson could take the biggest step of his career. He's acutely aware of the magnitude of the stage -- "This is a test of golf all the way through. Just walking through the parking lot is hard enough," Watson says -- and he knows what he needs to do.

"I can gut it out, if I stay focused," Watson said. "The last few weeks, I've been hitting the ball really well. I knew coming into this I had a chance to do well. Not to win, it's hard to do, because there's always somebody that plays really well.

"But to hang in there is impressive to me right now."

"It was tough for me today," Watson said. "I'm not good on afternoon rounds by sitting around all morning. I got up this morning and checked to see the coverage and waiting around all day thinking about how bad the shots were going to be and the good shots going to be but I hung in there. If I can do that the next two days, it will be a real good thing."