BIG-HITTING GOLFER American golfer Bubba Watson has tried to atone for his recent French Open public relations disaster by apologising to the nation of France.
Facing the press yesterday ahead of his first practice round at Royal St Georges, the outspoken Floridian claimed that his lack of experience playing abroad, coupled with his inability to accurately pronounce the names of local landmarks, laid the foundations for the most controversial week of his career.
“I didn’t know I did anything wrong until I got to the US and there was a lot of bad, negative press about me. I didn’t mean any harm. I just told them what was different, what I’m used to. I just said that I was uncomfortable…“I would never want France to think I was bad-mouthing the place. I didn’t know how to pronounce the names the right way. They say it was disrespectful. I’m sorry for that. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. But I play golf. I’m not a history major.”
While Watson’s explanation goes some way towards accounting for his much-publicised references to the Eiffel Tower (“that big tower”), the Arc de Triomphe (“the arch I drove ’round in a circle”) and the Palace of Versailles (“that castle that we are staying next to”), it doesn’t really explain his decision to ignore the local press during the week of the tournament, or his equally controversial refusal to share a courtesy car with a fellow competitor.
Due to play the first two rounds of this week’s Open Championship in the company of Graeme McDowell - who marked a recent tweet about the American with the hash-tag ‘toysoutofthepram’ – and Australia’s Jason Day, Watson is anticipating a frosty reception.