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Bubba Watson continues to insist he'd rather be an assistant than player at the 2019 Presidents Cup
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Following his final round at the Valspar Championship, Bubba Watson remarked he's not a huge fan of match play. It was assumed the the two-time major winner was referring to this week's WGC tournament in Texas; apparently that sentiment applies to team events, too.
Speaking on Tuesday at Austin C.C., the 40-year-old was asked what he thought about his slated battle with Jordan Spieth. Watson answered, strangely, by turning his focus to the Presidents Cup this December.
“I didn't want to let this out of the bag, but I'm really thinking I'm going to be vice captain for the Presidents Cup," Watson said. "Don't tell the captain yet. So for me it's perfect, I get to watch these great players, and hopefully they can make the team, with Kevin Na, Billy [Horschel] and Jordan.”
That "captain" would be Tiger Woods, who, unlike Watson, has aspirations of teeing it up in Australia.
These comments aren't out of left field, relatively speaking, for Watson, insisting at last year's Hero World Challenge that he wanted to be an assistant.
"I have been bugging (Tiger) about being a vice captain for Australia," Watson said at the time. "I would love the honor of doing that again. The reason why is I feel like I can service. For me personally, I have more enjoyment serving 12 guys than playing."
Of course, Watson is also the guy who called the 2016 Ryder Cup, where he was an assistant to Davis Love III despite being the seventh-ranked player in the world, "The greatest thing I've ever done in golf." So much for those two green jackets.
"I always bug Tiger,'' Watson continued. '"He says, 'You need to be playing.' I said, 'Look, man, we've never won a Ryder Cup with me playing, but we've won when I wasn't playing. So me and you need to be captain and vice captains.' That's our joke. I've told him, 'Listen, I'll do anything to help you if you want me. If you don't, that's fine.'"
While Watson has struggled at the Ryder Cup to the tune of a 4-10 record, he's been noticeably better at the Presidents Cup, going 5-3-2 in two American victories. He is currently 12th in the American Presidents Cup standings, with the top eight earning automatic selection.
For his part, Woods has already named three assistant captains in Fred Couples, Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker. Tiger has the option of picking one more vice, which he's expected to do closer to the event.
The 2019 Presidents Cup begins December 12 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, the site of the only International win in the event's 25-year history.