Bubba Watson excited for three big weeks of golf, starting with PGA Championship
Tuesday 26 July 2016 22:31, UK
Bubba Watson hopes an inspirational talk can help him claim at least one victory in three of the most important weeks of his season.
Watson tees off in the PGA Championship at Baltusrol on Thursday and then plays in the Travelers Championship, an event close to his heart, before flying off to Rio to take part in the Olympic Games in the middle of August.
The left-hander, along with Olympic team-mates Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar and Rickie Fowler, spoke with Winter Olympic gold medalist Dan Jansen to get some idea of what they can expect next month.
He won speed-skating gold in 1994, six years after his sister Jane - who inspired him to take up the sport - died from leukaemia.
Jansen's is a story that resonates with Watson, whose father Gerry died in 2010 after a battle with throat cancer and was the inspiration behind his own charity ventures.
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"Dan, he's a legend. When you look at Olympic sports, he's a legend for America," Watson said. "Some of the things that he battled, he talked about what he battled.
"Not just winning. Who cares about winning a medal? Just what he battled trying to get there, what he battled in family life and things like that. It was pretty amazing to hear his stories and how he came through it.
"And then when you saw some of the videos that they showed us, and then trying on all the clothes, we became little kids real fast. Can't wait to get there. Because just talking to a legend like that and watching some of the videos, it was pretty special.
"He's there to cheer you up and get you excited about it. But we're all four of us pretty passionate about it. Any time you can play and represent your country to that higher level, it's pretty special."
Watson's packed schedule sees him move north to River Highlands for the Travelers, an event he has won twice, and then fly to Brazil for the first Olympic golf tournament in 112 years, but he is not daunted.
"I'm missing the opening ceremony of the Olympics because of the Travelers, because it means so much to my family. Travelers did so much for me and my family, outside of my dad, because what people don't realise is what goes on behind closed doors, when it comes to cancer like that," he added.
"Obviously the person that has cancer is in trouble but, at the same time, so is your family; my mom had a man there for 42 years and then he passed away. So Travelers is always going to be very special to me. So that's first.
"And then obviously here, who doesn't want to win here. And then the Olympics. We don't know what to expect, playing for our country. My dad was in Vietnam, I love giving back to the military. So the Olympics, having the flag on my shoulder, or me representing the flag, United States of America, is very special.
"But we don't know what to expect there. Here we know what to expect when you win a major or to win Travelers, but when it comes to Olympics, nobody knows. I haven't talked to anybody from 112 years ago."
