Bubba Watson turns to mental coach to get his off-course life in order

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Bubba Watson has never been one to hide his emotions on the golf course.

Thursday at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, he opened up about dealing with them off it, revealing that two weeks ago he began working with a mental coach.

Watson, 40, a 12-time tour winner, said the decision was based on trying to help him deal with issues off the course and keep them from becoming distractions on it.

“I've got more junk going on in my life,” Watson said. “Car dealership, baseball team, apartment complex, candy shop, driving range, office buildings. I've got to make sure my RV gets to tournaments. I've got to make sure my kids are doing the right things at school. Got a beautiful wife that I've got to make happy. Just a lot more stuff going on.”

It seemed to pay dividends on Thursday. Watson shot a five-under-par 65 to sit three strokes off the lead of Jon Rahm at TPC Southwind.

Watson added that although his mental coach has helped, the goal isn’t to simply play better golf but live a better life.

“I’d get rid of my wins in a heartbeat,” Watson said. “I’d work at a golf shop in a heartbeat if I had to take care of my family and everything. It's good junk, but it's a lot more junk than I had 20 years ago.”