BUBBA: WE’RE SICK AND SHATTERED
BUBBA WATSON has revealed the Americans are struggling with illness and exhaustion going into the Ryder Cup. In a major boost to Thomas Bjorn’s European team here, two-times Masters winner Watson claimed the Americans were ‘all battling something’. His voice clearly affected by some form of illness, Watson said: ‘It’s a long year, we’re all tired. You can tell, my voice, I’m exhausted. A lot of us were kind of getting sick... gosh, I don’t want to say half the field had something and then, you know, travelling all the way over here, we’re all battling something.’ Asked if it was an illness spreading through the American locker room, or whether the US-based European players would be similarly affected, Watson
replied: ‘Really, there were a few guys that aren’t over here and guys that are over here. It kind of started through the locker room last week — there’s only 30 guys. So I just happened to get it. I’ve got a weak immune system.’ The Americans do appear to have been playing more golf than their opponents, with the disparity perhaps most noticeable between the more senior members of the teams. Phil Mickelson has contested 10 events in the last 13 weeks, while Tiger Woods has played four tournaments in five weeks for the first time in a decade despite his back issues. Compare that to Ian Poulter, who is here after a fortnight off, or Sergio Garcia, who has played just once in five weeks, or Henrik Stenson, who has missed three of the last four weeks. Earlier, Justin Rose suggested the Europeans would be sharper. Replying to Mickelson’s suggestion that contesting the FedEx Play-offs would help the Americans, Rose said: ‘Well, I think our team is fresher than the American team, so it’s going to be an interesting conversation for sure. I’m hoping that’s one of our benefits in that we are slightly more rested as a collective group. ‘The guys have been playing hard and playing under a lot of pressure. Obviously so have I, but I’ve also made a lot of small, little, mini decisions through the Play-offs to try to keep a bit of gas in the tank. I’ve played many less practice rounds than I otherwise would have.’ USA skipper Jim Furyk had to deny suggestions that Woods was struggling with his back at the team photo shoot. Observers thought he looked stiff, but Furyk said: ‘I don’t think there were any issues. I was a little stiff on the way to the range, too. I watched him play a few holes and he doesn’t look stiff at all.’