“Booba” no longer the ugly American

Bubba Watson — or “Booba,” as he’s known in these parts — is trying hard to shed his image as the Ugly American.

He doesn’t just like France. He LOVES France!

The museums. The culture. The food.

All of it.

You almost expected him to start speaking French (with a bit of a Southern drawl, perhaps) during his news conference Wednesday, two days before the start of the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in the rather nondescript suburbs outside Paris.

“Gosh, I love it. This is a beautiful place,” Watson gushed. “I mean, it’s high fashion. It’s fashion week. I don’t look like I dress — I wear Tshirts all the time — but I have some high fashion in my closet. I just don’t ever bust it out.”

Hmm, that sounds a bit different from his assessment back in 2011, when Booba seemed none too impressed with the land of fromage and champagne.

After missing the cut at the very same course where he’s playing this week, Watson griped about a dearth of security, the lack of ropes to guide him to the next hole, the constant snapping of pictures by the spectators (which seems downright quaint these days, huh?).

Then he pretty much dissed the entire country.

During a tour of Paris, Watson recounted seeing “the big tower” (that would be the Eiffel Tower), as well “an arch, whatever I rode around in a circle” (we’re assuming he meant the Arc de Triomphe). He even popped into a museum that “starts with an L.” The Louvre? Yep, “one of those,” Watson said dismissively.

Of course, he would have us believe now that it was all a joke, taken the wrong way by one of those pesky journalists with their notepads and tape recorders that document exact words.

“It was sad that people wrote or took my comments or whatever I did — because I don’t really remember, it’s so long ago — but it was sad that they did that because I loved it. I’ve always loved it,” Watson insisted, pretty much revising everything you might have believed about him. “I love traveling. I mean, that’s why I have played around the world, I love traveling and I love cultures.”