Do You Know These Athletes' Real Names? | Bleacher Report Do You Know These Athletes' Real Names? By Nick Dimengo , Chief Writer May 28, 2014 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Alison Wise/Associated Press 6 Comments As someone who typically gets referred to by a nickname, rarely ever actually getting called by my first name, I can absolutely relate to some of these athletes. Well, not all of them, of course. That's because, while they may go by recognizable names for sports fans, it's not what their birth certificate actually says. So test your skills to see if you know the real names of these athletes. Dave Martin/Associated Press Real Name: Ositadimma Umenyiora As one might imagine, having a first name that isn't only tough to pronounce but also nearly impossible to spell is never a good look. That's why current Atlanta Falcons defensive end Osi Umenyiora shortened it to just Osi, since no one would talk to him otherwise—seeing how they couldn't actually say his name.

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press Real Name: Jose Alberto Pujols Alcantara He may be one of the best hitters—and most recent addition to the 500 home run club —but L.A. Angels star Albert Pujols actually has a name as long as one of his home runs. Cutting out the Jose and Alcantara and shortening Alberto down to the more American version of the same name sure does make it easier for what will be on his Hall of Fame plaque one day. USA TODAY Sports Real Name: Daniel McCoy Playing at the University of Texas in college, it almost seemed like destiny that current Washington Redskins backup quarterback Colt McCoy would wind up playing in Austin one day. In fact, it was so good that it wasn't, technically, accurate. The all-time Longhorns leader in wins as a starting signal-caller, Colt's actual first name is Daniel. Mike McGinnis/Getty Images Real Name: Carsten Charles Sabathia He has been one of the most feared lefty pitchers since he came into the majors back in 2001—even earning himself a Cy Young Award back in 2007—but do you know what the CC stands for in CC Sabathia's name?

That would be Carsten Charles, which was given to him in honor of his dad, who shares the same name. David Zalubowski/Associated Press Real Name: Ron Artest Jr. Named after his dad, former NBA All-Star Metta World Peace just didn't think his given name had as much of an impact as his current one. That's why Artest legally changed it up back in 2011, with the full meaning standing for friendship, love and kindness in the world—which he lived up to after a few dust-ups early in his career. Chris Carlson/Associated Press Real Name: Gerry Lester Watson Jr. A two-time Masters winner, everyone seems to love Bubba Watson whenever he steps foot on the first tee at a tournament. With the cheers for "Bubba" ringing from the gallery, fans should actually be yelling "Gerry," instead, because that's Watson's real first name. Still, Bubba just sounds cooler—even if it did come because he was a chunky baby . Bill Kostroun/Associated Press Real Name: Elisha Manning Many people might think that New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning's birth certificate reads Elijah on the first-name line. Those people would be mistaken, though.

In fact, the youngest Manning brother's true first name is Elisha , meaning he's named after an actress who is quite attractive, Elisha Cuthbert (kidding). That might be weird, but remember, Eli has two Super Bowl rings, so he's getting the last laugh. Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images Real Name: Glenn Rivers He may not be an athlete on the NBA court anymore, but before guiding the Boston Celtics to an NBA title as their head coach a few seasons ago and taking over for the L.A. Clippers, Doc Rivers enjoyed a 13-year career in the league. And while he seemed/seems like a surgeon on the court or sideline, Doc's real first name is actually Glenn—which definitely isn't as dope, and it probably doesn't have a great story behind it . John Parra/Getty Images Real Name: Mark Dupas While I really hope that no fan really believed that former NFL wide receiver Mark Super Duper's last name was, in fact, Super Duper, there may not be many who remember what his real name is. That would be Mark Dupas.

But that all changed when he decided to change it in 1985, making it a hell of a lot more extraordinary—which didn't necessarily help him following the switch, based off his stats . Real Name: Melvin Upton This one is just cool. Although we've all known him only as B.J. Upton, the Atlanta Braves outfielder's first name is actually Melvin. So why B.J.? That would be because his dad was referred to as Bossman, so, naturally, he made his son Bossman Junior , which eventually was shortened—although I really wish it hadn't. Real Name: Vincent Jackson Vincent Knows—well, that doesn't quite have the same ring to it. But that's what could have happened had this former athlete—who was named the best ever by an ESPN poll a few years ago—had stuck with his given name rather than go by Bo. Thankfully, he didn't do that, as he was given the nickname Bo after displaying the energy of a wild boar while younger.

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Real Name: Earvin Johnson He's at the epicenter of one of the worst moments in NBA history , but three-time league MVP and five-time world champion Magic Johnson is still one of the most respected athletes in the past 20 years. Johnson has done it all, from helping to raise money for HIV/AIDS to owning numerous franchises as a businessman. And while we all know him as Magic, it's Earvin to those who knew him before he got big. Patrick Semansky/Associated Press Real Name: Eldrick Woods OK, so this one was probably known by most of you out there, but what's more interesting than knowing Tiger Woods' first name is really Eldrick is how he got the nickname Tiger. After Woods' late dad, Earl, served in the Army, one of his best friends was a Vietnamese soldier by the name of Vuong Dang Phong—who happened to be nicknamed Tiger . From that, the Woods' gave it to their son. Associated Press Real Name: Denton Young Enjoying a 22-year MLB career , Cy Young didn't just win games and dominate hitters, he absolutely clowned them.

Winning a total of 511 games and posting an ERA of 2.63, Young was so good that the league named the award for the best pitching performance in each league after him. That's just about the highest of praises—but it wouldn't have quite the same ring to it if he had gone by Denton Young instead. Mark Lennihan/Associated Press Real Name: Edson Arantes do Nascimento Without hesitation or debate, nearly everyone openly acknowledges soccer great Pele as the best the game has ever seen. But did you know that the name we all know him by almost never happened? That's because Pele—whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento— punched the classmate who gave him the moniker while in grade school. As his home country prepares to launch the beginning of the World Cup in a few weeks, Pele will once again find himself at the epicenter of the soccer world. Bubba Watson Net Worth 2017-2016, Biography, Wiki - UPDATED!

- Celebrity Net Worth More net worths Bubba Watson Net Worth, Biography, Wiki 2017-2016 Bubba Watson is a well known golfer, who is known for winning several PGA Tournaments. In 2014 he reached third place on the Official World Golf Rankings. In addition to his career as a golf player, Watson is also a part of the band called “Golf Boys”, which consists of Watson, Rickie Fowler , Hunter Mahan and Ben Crane. They created this band in order to help other people, as money is donated to charity if more people watch their videos. If you think how rich is Bubba Watson, it can be said that Bubba’s estimated net worth is $20 million. This sum of money might change in the future as Bubba still continues his career. Not so long ago, Watson bought a mansion, which was owned by Tiger Wood . Of course, it cost him a lot of money, but it probably was no problem for Bubba as his net worth is quite high. In 2013 he was included in the list of Great Floridians, which only proves how influential and popular he is.

Bubba Watson Net Worth $20 Million Gerry Lester Watson, Jr., better known as Bubba Watson, was born in 1978, in Florida. When he was attending Milton High School, Bubba played golf in the school’s team. Later he was also a member of the Faulkner State Community College team. In 2000 Bubba became a part of the team called “Bulldogs”, and helped the team win many tournaments. This was the time when Bubba Watson’s net worth began growing. In 2003 Bubba began his professional career and joined the “Nationwide Tour”. He was really successful there and this, of course, made Watson’s net worth higher. In 2010 Watson won on the “PGA Tour’ for the first time. In the same year Watson created his own clothing line, “Bubba Golf”, which also added to Bubba’s net worth. In 2011 he continued his successful performances and won against many other professional golfers, for example Webb Simpson and Phil Mickelson . In 2012 Bubba won the “2012 Masters Tournament”.

Two years later he won this tournament again, and it made Bubba more popular and also added to his net worth. As mentioned before, he is also a part of the band “Golf Boys”, plus he made an appearance in Andy Mineo’s video for the song called “ Michael Jackson ”. To talk about his personal life, Bubba is married to Angie Watson and they have one child, who was adopted as his wife was not able to conceive a child. Lastly, it could be said that Bubba Watson is a really successful golf player, who has achieved a lot during his career. Bubba’s skills and hard work have allowed him to achieve the best results and gain acclaim and popularity. As said before, Bubba continues playing golf, so there is a high chance that Bubba Watson’s net worth will become even higher than it is now. Let’s hope that this will happen in the future. Bubba Watson Deals With His Sudden Fame - The New York Times The New York Times Continue reading the main story Photo Bubba Watson at last year’s U.S. Open. Watson pulled off an improbable shot that sealed a Masters victory shortly after he and his wife adopted their first child.

Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times On a PGA Tour overrun by perfect swings and political correctness, Bubba Watson stands out like a cowboy on Wall Street. He is outspoken, with an unconventional swing and an imagination with no out-of-bounds markers. Watson describes himself as a “new-age redneck,” his awesomeness implied. As if to drive home the point, Watson earlier this year bought the original General Lee, the Dodge Charger that starred in the television series “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Watson, 33, seeks the guidance of a pastor but not a swing coach. He wears his golf shirts buttoned to the top, but his mouth is almost always open. He does not pound balls or, apparently, beers. He was spotted hanging out near the French Quarter one night during the tour stop in New Orleans — at a frozen yogurt shop. One of Watson’s best friends on the tour is Rickie Fowler, who is a decade younger. Asked why they get along so well, Fowler said, “I’m actually older than him at heart.” Continue reading the main story A preposterous hook shot out of the woods helped Watson win the Masters and a wide following.

With his handsy, quirky swing and wildness off the tee — after his last start, he was 108th on the tour in driving accuracy — his game is imperfect enough to give every weekend duffer hope. As a result of Watson’s candor, creative shot-making and tour-leading 314.5-yard driving average, he has become America’s adopted son. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The staggering fatigue, steep learning curve and sweet rewards that come with such attention are similar to what he has experienced since he and wife, Angie, adopted their infant son, Caleb, two weeks before that Masters win. For Watson, an introvert trapped in an entertainer’s body, the harder adjustment has been building a relationship with the public that extends beyond interacting with his more than 600,000 followers on Twitter. “It’s weird that people want to hear me, see me, get my autograph,” Watson said, adding, “That’s the learning I’m trying to do.” All eyes will be upon him this week at the United States Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco.

He is not only the reigning Masters champion, but he will play the first two rounds with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson , two golfers long accustomed to life in the public eye. Watson has received a crash course in fame since the Masters. In his next competitive event, in New Orleans, Watson played in the pro-am and was followed by a small gallery of early risers, including a handful of people who at every hole produced pin flags, magazine covers or glossy photographs for him to sign. One man ducked behind a tree and changed into a different shirt in an effort to go unnoticed as a repeat autograph seeker. After six holes, Watson realized he was being stalked by dealers — “autograph hunters” is what he called them — who sell signed items to collectors. Watson’s caddie, Ted Scott, told fans Watson would stop for autographs after his round. Watson tried to oblige every child who thrust items at him. He was more circumspect signing for adults. At the Memorial Tournament a month later, a man provoked Watson into a shouting match and was escorted off the Muirfield Village course by security at the end of Watson’s pro-am round.

The man called Watson “a liar” and “a terrible person” because he did not sign for him. Watson stopped, stared at the man and said: “I’m a liar? How did I lie? I’m a terrible person because I won’t sign for you? All you’re doing is selling the stuff, anyway.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story On the practice green afterward, Watson and Scott looked shaken as they reviewed the incident, the better to learn from it. Watson had weathered a worse fan experience the previous night in Columbus, Ohio. Leaving a charity concert he hosted, Watson and Angie, who was behind the wheel, were tailed by a stranger. “I switched to driving, so I could drive through someone’s yard if I had to,” Watson said. It took 37 minutes for Watson to give his pursuer the slip, long enough for Angie and him to commit to selling their much-loved house in Scottsdale, Ariz., and moving permanently to the gated community of Isleworth outside Orlando, formerly home to Woods.

“You can turn your phone off or lock down yourself at Isleworth and nobody can get to you,” Watson said, “and just spend time with the family, play golf.” His victory at the Masters did not change his whole life. His priorities remain the same. Family comes before golf. “You dream of winning a major championship, but then actually pulling it off, you don’t know how to deal with it,” Watson said. “I’ve never dreamed that far. That’s what I said, because you don’t, you don’t think about what comes with it.” Skills Honed in Florida Lawrence Tynes was a year ahead of Watson at Milton High School in the Florida panhandle and played some junior golf against him. As Tynes watched the Masters on television, he could barely contain his excitement as Watson’s tee shot on the second hole of sudden death settled in a bed of pine needles in the woods.

“I was 100 percent certain that Bubba would pull off a miraculous shot ,” Tynes, now a kicker for the N.F.L.’s Giants, said in a telephone interview, “because he’s hit that shot a million times at Tanglewood.” Photo Bubba Watson emerged from the woods after his preposterous hook shot helped him wrap up a playoff victory at the Masters. His crash course in fame began shortly after that moment in April. Credit Streeter Lecka/Getty Images Tanglewood Golf Club , a tight, tree-lined course in Milton, was Watson’s first canvas. He learned to play the game there without the benefit of a single lesson. He also carded a 10-under-62 there at age 12 during the Divot Derby, a prestigious local junior event that he now sponsors. Advertisement Continue reading the main story It was preordained that Watson would become a professional athlete, but in baseball, not golf. His father, Gerry, was a catcher in his youth and dreamed of his second child and only son becoming a major league player.

Watson’s mother, Molly, remembered fielding calls in the final month of her 1978 pregnancy from her husband at his building sites seeking updates, not on her condition but on the World Series between his favorite team, the Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I remember saying Bucky Dent’s name a lot,” Molly Watson said with a laugh. Nineteen days after the Yankees clinched the championship in Game 6 behind Dent, their shortstop and the World Series most valuable player, Gerry Lester Watson Jr. was born. Gerry Watson, upon laying eyes for the first time on the butterball that was his son, nicknamed him Bubba, after the N.F.L. defensive end Bubba Smith. After the delivery, Watson’s father repeated his desire that his son grow up to play baseball. Shortly afterward, Molly Watson announced the birth of a future Yankee in a letter to the team’s owner, George Steinbrenner. “My dad was dreaming, was praying, was wishing I’d be a baseball player, left-handed pitcher,” Watson said. But it was golf that fired his imagination.

At 6, Watson, accompanied by his father, made his first visit to a driving range and received a sawed-down 9-iron from Hiram Cook, who operates Tanglewood and Stonebrook Golf Club. From the start, Watson wielded the club like a paintbrush. “His ability level was high,” said Cook, who was also struck by Watson’s perfect golf physique. He was tall for his age and lanky, with big hands and long arms. Watson attracted notice in Little League as a left-handed pitcher with a sidearm delivery. But the solitary nature of golf made it a better fit for Watson’s personality. “Bubba was a loner,” Cook said, adding, “His relationship with people is always in a joking fashion, never serious. It’s his defensive mechanism for dealing with people.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story There’s a method to Watson’s glibness; it brushes over truths that are too complex to be dispensed in sound bites. His father’s defense mechanism was a hard outer shell. Gerry Watson, who died of throat cancer in 2010, was a Green Beret who served in Vietnam.

He dropped out of school in the 10th grade, but later earned a diploma and worked as a Monsanto plant maintenance manager. In his later years he was in considerable pain from rheumatoid arthritis. “He was a military man,” Watson said. “In public he wanted to be seen as tough, but behind closed doors he was the softest, kindest man. My dad was always there to pick me up. He let me fail on my own and excel on my own.” His father was Watson’s coach and only golf confidant. “Bubba would listen to his dad,” Cook said. “He wouldn’t listen to anybody else.” On the days of a tournament, it was easy to look at Watson and see his father’s influence. Gerry Watson liked to accessorize his work uniform with colorful pocket handkerchiefs. Watson’s competitive attire during his junior playing days consisted of bright-colored knickers and pink socks. These days he plays with a pink driver. “He was just like his daddy,” Molly Watson said. “They didn’t want to be like everybody else.” Then as now, Watson did not embrace hitting buckets of balls on the range to perfect his swing. He preferred playing rounds to practicing.

On the greens he followed the Tao of putting rather than any technique. “When he was 14,” Cook said, “I was trying to show him something about the grain of the green, how the grain will make the ball travel slower or faster depending on whether you are putting into it or with it. He had no concept of what I was talking about. He said, ‘What is grain?’ He didn’t really care. He just felt it.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story In his teenage years, Watson’s playing partner usually was Randall Wells. The week Wells moved into town, Watson knocked on the front door of the Wellses’ house and told his mother, “I heard you have a son who plays golf.” That day he and Wells played the first of hundreds of rounds together, forging a friendship that has endured. (Wells is now the Watsons’ accountant.) Watson spent as much time in the homes of Wells and Cook, whose daughter, Robin Cook Dezarn, was among Watson’s small circle of friends, as he did his own. “Mr. Cook was a golf pro; Robin was a four-year letterman at Auburn; Randall was a good player,” Watson said.

“Why would I go hang out with my dad at the house when I could go be playing golf with people like that who I could learn from, who could make me better?” Watson was bent on improving, but that’s not what people saw. “I think a lot of people thought, ‘What makes Bubba think he’s better than anybody else?’ ” Wells said. “He wasn’t a ball beater, so people wondered if he really understood what it takes to make it.” Photo Bubba and Angie Watson with their adopted son, Caleb. Credit Jens Honor� Less was expected of Watson than of two older Milton High graduates, Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley, who went on to win on the PGA Tour. “We were always probably more negative to Bubba than positive,” Cook said. “The people around him, no one ever thought he’d be where he is today. Nobody ever thought that he’d win on the tour. Nobody thought he’d graduate from college. Nobody ever had a whole lot of confidence in Bubba because of the way he was.” Focusing on Fatherhood Angie Watson sat down in the Italian restaurant, carefully arranged her phone next to her silverware and apologized for not turning it off.

Her husband was back at their Orlando rental home with the baby, she explained, and she was prepared for a flurry of texts. The first time she left her husband with Caleb, now almost 4 months old, Bubba texted her at the first drop of spit-up on his shoulder. Near the end of the meal, her phone began vibrating. She picked it up and beamed at the screen. Watson had sent a video of Caleb smiling and splashing during his bath. She knew that on the other side of the camera, Watson was coaxing that smile from Caleb by making goofy faces. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Becoming a father was a goal Watson gave voice to as a teenager. He had such an easy rapport with children that no one in Milton doubted that one day he would make a terrific parent. His ambition to play — and win — on the PGA Tour was another story. Since the Masters, Watson has played only two tournaments, missing the cut in one. He received criticism for skipping the Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship tournament and the event with the richest purse.

Watson’s reasoning was that he has many more years to compete in the Players, but he would never have another chance to make a good first impression on his son. It bothered him greatly when he returned home from the Masters and Caleb did not show the slightest recognition at the sound of his voice. “It was the greatest feeling, when my son started looking around when he heard my voice and smiling when he saw my face,” Watson said. The Watsons met in 2000 at the University of Georgia, where they were scholarship athletes. Angie Ball was a basketball player who was finishing up her degree while rehabilitating from an injury that prevented her from representing her native Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Watson, who came to Georgia after two years at Faulkner State Community College, was on the golf team, not that Angie knew that the day he approached her in the gym when she was alone shooting baskets. He started rebounding for her and eventually asked if she would like to play golf. She agreed, only to be unnerved when his opening tee shot traveled 350 yards and split the fairway. “I was like, ‘O.K., you’ve done this before,’ ” she recalled with a laugh.

In the car after their first dinner date, Angie told Watson that she could not bear children. If that was a deal breaker, she said, she understood. Watson would surprise her again. His friend Robin had been adopted by the Cooks, and Watson observed daily how natural their relationship was. “That’s O.K.,” she remembered him saying. “I want to adopt.” Between that drive in Georgia and the Watsons’ commute south on the Florida Turnpike in March to bring Caleb home stood miles of heartbreak. They began the adoption process four years ago when Angie flew to California to meet with Inez Whitlow, the founder of Chicks in Crisis, an organization that facilitates adoptions and had placed children with other golfers. In January, the couple stepped up their efforts to become parents. Over the next two months, they had two potential adoptions fall through, Angie said. The second time they were rejected by the birth parent, which shook her to her core, she said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “It’s almost like you’re not good enough,” she said. “You sort of feel that way. When you find out you can’t have kids you sort of feel maybe there’s reasons I can’t have kids.

Maybe I don’t have it in me to be a good mom. When you’re rejected by a birth mother, it feels like affirmation that you’re somehow unfit.” The week of the Bay Hill tournament, two weeks before the Masters, Whitlow called to say that a boy was available for adoption and that the birth mother had chosen the Watsons from a pile of profiles from prospective parents. Less than a week later, on March 26, Watson, his wife and his mother-in-law drove from Orlando to a hotel outside Fort Lauderdale to collect Caleb from his birth mother in a meeting arranged by Chicks in Crisis. “During the drive, Bubba just kept repeating, ‘It’s going to be O.K.’ ” Angie Watson said. “I was stressed out that we didn’t have a bathtub for the baby or the right wipes or what people would think.” It would be a daylong emotional cloudburst for everybody involved. “There was a lot of pain for the birth mother, and so much joy for us,” Angie Watson said. “I still think of her.” Bubba Watson was reluctant to leave his family behind to play in the Masters, but his wife pushed him out the door after assuring him that she would be fine.

Whitlow said she was on the phone with Caleb’s birth mother when Watson made his par putt on the second hole of sudden death to beat Louis Oosthuizen. “We were both crying,” Whitlow said in a telephone interview. A few days later, she said she heard again from the birth mother, who was following the Watsons on television and Twitter. Advertisement “She called and said, ‘Oh my gosh, Inez, I am so in love with them. I’m so happy they’re my baby’s parents,’ ” Whitlow said. Photo Bubba Watson at a charity event in Columbus, Ohio, where he described how thoughts of his wife and son helped calm him during his Masters win. Credit Troy Breidenbach Showing His Emotions Watson is a one-man weather band: sunny one second, stormy the next and with the threat of precipitation always high. At Bubba’s Bash, a charity event before the Memorial for which he was the host and headliner, Watson’s voice cracked and his eyes welled with tears as he sat between a pastor and a rapper and shared details of the miracle that changed his life.

The crowd, which moments earlier had been a melting pot at full boil, fell into a rapt stillness. Watson spoke of how he struggled with being apart from his wife and son during the week of the Masters but felt strangely serene during the tournament’s final holes because of the family waiting for him back home. He choked up talking about aspiring to be a better husband, a better father. Minutes later, Watson was back on stage, dancing spastically and singing giddily in an unannounced performance with the Golf Boys, the PGA Tour’s version of a Christian band. Watson, Fowler, Ben Crane and Hunter Mahan, who became good friends during weekly Bible study sessions, performed their Internet hit, “Oh Oh Oh.” “Have you ever done a show in your life where the Waffle House was the catering?” the Grammy winner Toby McKeehan, whose stage name is TobyMac, said backstage to Jeremy Camp, another of the night’s performers. Both singers laughed. “That’s Bubba,” McKeehan said, his tone so affectionate there was no mistaking that it was meant as a compliment. “Honestly, I’m impressed by his gentle, unjaded heart,” McKeehan said later.

“In some ways I’m jealous. When you have success, it’s so easy to become insulated.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Gentle might not have been a word used to describe Watson a few years ago. “He’s grown a lot the last couple of years,” said Scott, who has caddied for Watson since 2006. “When I first began to work with Bubba, I heard he was a jerk. Not a lot of people liked him. I remember distinctly my very first week working for him. There was a 10-year-old boy standing between holes trying to talk to him and he totally ignored the kid. I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s rude.’ I’ve come to realize it’s this protective mechanism that Bubba has, that his dad had. It’s this attitude of, ‘Until you’re in the circle, I’m going to be a little cold to you.’ ” He added: “He’s a complicated man. He’s difficult to get to know.

But once you get into his circle, it’s hard to get kicked out.” Aside from his wife and his agent, Jens Beck, Watson’s inner circle includes Andrew Fischer, a trainer who started working with Watson in the summer of 2009. The first thing he cajoled Watson into lifting was silverware at breakfast. Fischer was shocked to learn that Watson often skipped morning meals before competitive rounds, which caused his blood-sugar levels to drop and made his focus and composure harder to maintain than a final-day lead. He persuaded Watson to eat breakfast, even if it was only a large glass of coconut water infused with a powdered vegetable mix. Fischer, who will quote the Bible in one sentence and Mark Twain in the next, writes inspirational verses on pieces of paper and tucks them into the bags containing the sandwiches on wheat bread (turkey and American cheese with light mayonnaise or peanut butter and jelly) that Watson consumes during his rounds. “Since Fish has come aboard, Bubba’s attitude on the course is much better,” Scott said. So is his conditioning. Before the 2010 season, Watson spent hours in the gym working with Fischer. He lost weight and gained muscle and confidence.

Since then, he has made 44 of 54 tour cuts and posted eight top-three finishes. “In the beginning, he said, ‘I just want to let you know that I have A.D.H.D.,’ ” Fischer said. “I told him, ‘No, you have a hyper-observant ability. You can look at a ton of things and process information like a Mac computer.’ When people call Bubba childish, I correct them and say he’s childlike. He has an unbelievable ability to tap into his imagination, an ability most of us lose as we grow older and try to conform.” As he walked outside the ropes following Watson in New Orleans, Fischer listened to the audio book of “The Big Miss,” by Woods’s former swing coach, Hank Haney. He felt there was much to learn from Haney’s experience working with the biggest star in the sport. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “When I first started with Bubba,” Fischer said, “I got to go out to the course and watch some of the most beautiful golf that nobody ever knew about.” And, on occasion, some ugly behavior. In 2010 Gerry Sr.’s health deteriorated and Watson began pressing.

He wanted to win a tour event while his father was alive to see it. He became more impatient and less focused. His nadir came in June of that year at a United States Open sectional qualifier in Columbus. Fighting himself more than his swing or the course, Watson missed an Open berth by three strokes. “It was one of the most miserable times I’ve spent with him,” Scott said. During a meal after the round, Scott and Fischer read Watson the real-world act. They reminded him that golf is what he does, not who he is, and that he is blessed to be playing the sport for a living. “A few years ago, I was living the wrong way,” Watson said. “Every golf shot was controlling how mad I got, how I was on the golf course.” He worked on his attitude, and his game quickly fell into place. In Watson’s next start, in late June, he won the Travelers Championship in a playoff. His father died four months later. Watson added two victories in 2011 before making the Masters his fourth title and first major crown. “The interesting thing about Bubba is he can be very flighty,” Scott said. “He has these random thoughts and he’s all over the map.

But when it comes to raising the baby, playing golf, eating, he can be very disciplined. What a lot of people don’t understand is while everyone else is trying to find a better way, Bubba has already found his way.” A version of this article appears in print on June 11, 2012, on Page D1 of the New York edition with the headline: Growing Up Bubba. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Total Frat Move | The Ballad Of Bubba Watson The Ballad Of Bubba Watson 22 Comments • 629 On paper, you’d be hard-pressed to find a golfer with more endearing characteristics than those attached to Gerry Lester Watson, Jr. from 1978-2012. Hailing from the tiny village of Bagdad, Florida, “Bubba,” a nickname handed down to him by his father, flaunts a self-taught golf swing as dynamic as his thick southern drawl and as explosive as his hometown’s namesake. In a sport rife with righties who draw, Bubba’s a leftie who fades.

In a sport full of textbook, professionally-coached swings, Bubba’s heel raising, hell-raising cadence makes him a fugitive in the eyes of the game’s traditionalists. But, opposite to how Outkast’s “Bombs Over Baghdad” received critical acclaim against the public’s impartiality, this outcast’s Bombs over Bagdad are so mesmerizingly launched that golf fans gaze awestruck and inspired at each unexampled 310+ yard drive while professional commentators note that his swing, while great, does sacrifice accuracy for power. (Author’s note: I spent far too long trying to get that contrived joke to work. I don’t think I succeeded.) After joining the PGA Tour for the 2006 season, Bubba would go on to win the driving title four out of his first seven years on tour. Those three years he didn’t win? Runner-up. Off the course, Bubba’s story gets even better. Not only was he known (as he still is) for being extremely charitable to faith-based, military-focused, and other types of non-profits — sometimes at the sake of his own dignity… Bubba was also an immaculate entertainer.

A quick scour of his YouTube channel reveals a series of trick shot videos Bubba posted between late 2009 and early 2010, ranging from the bizarre… to the tame… to the genuinely impressive. All featuring Bubba’s signature sense of goofy, off-the-wall, “I don’t give a shit” humor. #urwelcome. Though deeply affected by the passing of his father and namesake Gerry in October 2010, Bubba would go on to win two tour events, the Farmers Insurance Open and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, within the next seven months. Then, in 2012, just a short while after Bubba and his wife Angie adopted their first son, Caleb, Bubba hit a 52-degree from the shit on the second playoff hole at The Masters. No amount of John Brenkus explanations will ever make it so I fully understand how Bubba’s ball did what it did. Bubba’s 10th (or 20th, I guess) at Augusta, in my eyes, is the closest thing we have to Tiger’s 16th.

Except, unlike in Tiger’s case, it didn’t merely highlight the career of a firmly established major champion — it created one. His post-Masters success was not immediate — Bubba would not go on to win another tournament until his first Northern Trust Open victory in February 2014. But after just three tour wins in his first six seasons on tour, Bubba now has five in his last three, including his second Northern Trust Open win last weekend. Let’s go back to 2012, though. Back when this was the people’s impression of Bubba. Back when he won his first major. Back when he was known as a philanthropist. An adoptive and loving father. A devout Christian. A goofy good ol’ boy making lighthearted videos for the amusement of his fans. A self-made man. A long bomber. An ambassador of the game. Is this how you thought things would end up?

Love seeing all of the fans on 16 boo Bubba — Anthony Braslavsky (@BraslavskyA) February 4, 2016 The boos on 16 at the Waste Management are only the latest notable manifestation of widespread Bubba hate, and only came to fruition as a result of compounded past events paired with a Bubba-induced trigger. How did we get here? To me, the answer to that question lies in a quote Bubba gave after winning his first Masters in 2012. “The thing is, golf is not my everything.” At the time, the quote seemed innocuous — the candid admission of a golfer who doesn’t take himself, or the game, too seriously. It made him seem relatable. Down-to-earth. Sincere. But as time went on, and his career progressed, and his actions were broadcast, we began to learn more and more what he meant by that statement. And some of us began to take it as an affront to our very beliefs about who Bubba is and how we should feel about him. Do you love him, or do you hate him? Do you find his antics harmless, or damaging?

Is the story of Bubba Watson that of a crude, spoiled man who only looks out for number one, or that of a normal dude vilified for simply caring less about himself than we do? I think it’s a little of both. *** — WolfChav (@WolfChav) February 21, 2016 *** I am by no means a golf insider. I watch the majors and a few other tournaments each year, and keep up with the output of various golf media outlets in the interim. In that sense, I represent the average golf fan. One of the pros of that, in terms of unravelling the mystery that is Bubba Watson, is that I am pretty in-tune with how the media has portrayed Bubba, and how the public has subsequently reacted. I know that if most people were to pick their three least favorite things about Bubba, it would be that he yells at his caddie Ted Scott, he skipped out on the long drive contest at the 2014 PGA Championship, and he only played at this year’s Waste Management to make his sponsors happy.

And I know that the public relished the opportunity to lambast him for each of those perceived misdeeds. One of the cons, however, is that I miss out on the ability to maintain a sense of self-efficacy when it comes to forming my opinion about Bubba. I don’t have this running impression of Bubba that ebbs and flows as I process each and every tee shot he hits, ball mark he fixes, and club he twirls. All I have are my responses to the media I consume. My thoughts on the thoughts of others. The opinion of Bubba that I’ve formed isn’t really an opinion at all, but rather a conjecture I’ve convinced myself I arrived at on my own accord. With that being said, let’s get to the case against Bubba Watson. Unlike with Tiger Woods, there was not one singular event that shaped the public’s perception of Bubba, but rather a combination of complementary crucibles. Those who avidly follow golf knew of Bubba’s proclivity to blow up on the course long before I even knew his name. Just take a look at this on-the-course incident from back in 2008.

This incident saw little coverage, as Bubba Watson apologized profusely right after the completion of his round to “ everybody in the tournament .” “I’d love to be a role model. I make mistakes. My mistake was I got angry today,” Bubba said. It’s not the last time Bubba would do so, and it’s certainly not the most iconic. That prestigious title belongs to the event that many would say started it all. If Bubba Watson were to have a Tiger Woods moment, and I mean that in the bad way, it would probably be the highly-publicized comments he made to his caddie, Ted Scott, during the final round of the 2013 Travelers Championship. To say the media ate it up would be a criminal understatement. Where the titles employed to drive traffic to Bubba’s outbursts used to be informative, like “ Bubba Watson Apologizes for Elkington Incident ,” and didn’t include visuals of the event (though to be fair, they were much harder to come by back then), they were now straight clickbait centered around media.

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 3, 2015 Hell, I even fell into this trap when I covered that last one. “ Bubba Watson Hits Bad Shot, Yells At Inanimate Ground For Causing It ” isn’t a headline that’s going to win me any industry awards. All of this is not to say that I, nor the people that wrote those other sensationalized pieces, are part of the problem — the majority of today’s media, in my experience, consists of impartial journalists covering the side of the story they think their audience wants to see. I’m merely trying to point out that when you read something about Bubba, or any celebrity, really, it was probably written by someone with 1) less knowledge of the situation than you probably gave them credit for (hey, I’m Jared, how ya doin’?), and/or 2) ulterior motives (a production quota, traffic goals, etc.) that influenced the direction they took. Of course Bubba’s very public beratement of Ted Scott isn’t the only grievance people have with him, as I mentioned earlier.

To get a better feel for why so many people have an irreconcilable disdain for Bubba, I spoke to Chris Solomon. Chris is a co-founder of No Laying Up , a popular golf entertainment and lifestyle brand, and the source of arguably the most outspoken Bubba hate on the internet. They are the originators of the popular #PrayForTedScott hashtag, and were one of, if not the most vocal proponents of Bubba’s eventual booing at the Waste Management. Bubba says he doesn't like TPC Scottsdale and is only here because of his sponsors. He should be shamed and boo'd off the course on 16 today — No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) February 4, 2016 That is why I was not surprised by his response when I asked him for his thoughts on Bubba. “On the surface, he looks exactly like the kind of guy I would root for,” Solomon said, referencing Watson’s impeccable drives and how he isn’t your typical bland tour pro. “It took a while for me to see past ‘Bubba,’ and to see the real Gerry Lester Watson, Jr.

He portrays himself as this ‘man of the people,’ fun loving, free spirit guy, but he’s anything but,” remarked Solomon. “He’ll curse about the playing conditions (like he did at the 2014 PGA Championship), then hide behind religion when talking to the press. He’ll say he’s only playing an event to make his sponsors happy, then retract the statements when the press gets outraged. His fans either choose [to] ignore this side of him and take him for what he is, or are simply unaware that this exists (the latter being the more likely). For myself and many others, we can see straight through the facade.” Solomon claims that it’s not just he in the golf world who despises Bubba, but that it’s a fairly widespread phenomenon. “What I find entertaining is that many tour pros are willing to put their feelings about him out there on twitter (if you dig a little bit). They often aren’t shy about ‘liking’ some of the many anti-Bubba tweets you’ll find on my feed, or even retweeting some of them,” Solomon said.

“There’s a reason why Bubba was voted as the guy that tour players would be least likely to help in a fight .” When asked what the most Bubba Watson-y Bubba Watson moment he could think of was (can you tell I have a journalism degree?), Solomon remarked that while “it almost feels heedless to just select one example,” the events surrounding the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla took the cake. Before Bubba was the focus of the aforementioned “ Bubba Watson cursing, having meltdown in the rain at Valhalla ” article, he was the subject of an even larger controversy. Solomon believes that when you combine these two incidents, we saw the completion of the anti-Bubba movement started by Ted Scott’s club selection at the 2013 Travelers. “For many people, this is when the tide started to turn against Bubba, and social media erupted. A lot of fans got to see firsthand what we had been talking about for a long time, and the resistance against the evil power was sprung to life,” Solomon said. That incident? Bubba’s response to the PGA reviving the long drive contest during the Tuesday pre-tournament practice round.

“It’s on the par-5 10th hole, which is a hole in which every player in the field is going to hit driver every single time. The winner of the contest gets $25,000 to donate to a charity of their choice. Everyone was having fun with it,” Solomon remarked. “ Padraig Harrington did the Happy Gilmore . Rory McIlroy wasn’t even going to play the back nine on Tuesday, but came over to hit a drive for the fans. The players yucked it up with the crowd all day long, and overall it was a huge success. But not for the free swinging, fun loving, longest hitter on tour, Bubba Watson.” “I’m here to win a championship. I’m not here to goof around,” Bubba Watson said. Solomon was not too amused with that quote. "I’m here to win a championship.

I’m not here to goof around” says Bubba, who posted this during the 2013 PGA: — No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) August 5, 2014 “They hadn’t even finished calling his name before he waved a 3-iron down the fairway to the shock of the fans in attendance,” Solomon said. “The same guy that falls back on his Christianity every chance he gets just willingly bypassed a chance to win $25,000 for charity, and managed to draw attention to what many people already knew about him: he’s an asshole.” Or is he? *** — daigan robichaud (@DaiganRobichaud) February 22, 2016 *** The case for Bubba Watson. Even though legions of Bubba haters out there would adamantly deny its existence, it is a thing. And it’s much more complicated than the case against him. Those in favor of Bubba Watson don’t seek to legitimize all of his actions; that would be a battle up an insurmountable hill.

The case in favor of Bubba Watson is moreso an attempt to help people understand why he is the way he is. I reached out to Golf Digest Associate Editor Stephen Hennessey for his thoughts on Watson. “Bubba’s a little misunderstood. He’s one of the most fun players to watch when he’s playing well,” Hennessey said. “But fans hear stories about his hypersensitivity and, at times, abrasiveness, which might be off-putting to some.” You’re perceiving Bubba Watson correctly. You’ve seen his outbursts, his brashness, and his bluntness. You just misinterpret the “why.” That is the leg on which Bubba sympathizers stand. Hennessey directed me to a column Jaime Diaz wrote for Golf Digest titled “ Being Bubba ,” which I highly, highly recommend checking out.

It does a better job of explaining the factors in Bubba’s life that have molded him — such as medical issues, behind-the-scenes controversies, and his relationship with his father and Ted Scott — than I could ever hope to do with the resources I have at hand (namely, a Twitter account with followers expecting crass poop jokes, and the connections equivalent of a lone business card holding the contact information of an Olive Garden manager six states away). Go into reading it with as open a mind about Bubba as you can, and see where you come out. When I asked Hennessey for a story that summarizes Bubba as a player/personality, the example he chose was the same as Solomon’s, but taken in a completely different direction. “I think him skipping the long drive contest at the PGA two years ago got blown way out of proportion. It’s almost like people look for reasons to pile on when it comes to Bubba.” Let’s take a closer look at Bubba’s comments regarding the 2014 PGA Championship long drive contest. His famous quote, “I’m here to win a championship.

I’m not here to goof around,” was given to Kelly Elbin in an interview that, to my knowledge, was not videotaped. That means all we have to go off of are the quotes and annotations attributed to Bubba. Here they are: From PGA.com : Q. There’s been a lot of chatter on different avenues about your take on the 10th and the long drive. Do you find it surprising that you would be accused of taking yourself too seriously? BUBBA WATSON: Me? Yeah, that’s surprising. I am. I’m here to win a championship. I’m not here to goof around (laughing). No, it’s just ‑‑ there’s a couple things that just rubbed me the wrong way, and so ‑‑ Q. In what way? BUBBA WATSON: I just see it, if it’s going to be a contest, make it where you could participate and not participate. Calling your name on a Tuesday of a practice round, it just seems funny to me, just seems hokey to me, so I just didn’t.

When you saw that quote plastered all over the internet, you didn’t see the part where Bubba laughed afterwards, and then followed it up with “no,” did you? Nor did you see the actual reasoning he gave for why he decided to not hit driver. While some may claim that Bubba’s laugh was just him being snide about the whole ordeal — “in typical, Bubba fashion,” they would probably say — I don’t think that’s the case. Check out this quote Bubba gave after his Masters victory in 2012. From The New York Times : “I just play golf, fun-loving Bubba, just try to have fun and goof around,” Watson said, adding, “Hopefully, I keep having the passion to play golf and keep doing what I’m doing.” Is it not possible that Bubba was sarcastically referencing this past quote of his in this interview, and, as Hennessey said, golf fans and the media alike were just looking for any excuse to write an anti-Bubba headline? That it was all a poorly-made reference to a past quote, one that, at the time, only served to help Bubba’s image?

Until that interview’s audio or video gets released, only witnesses to that interview truly know. All we do know is that Bubba just simply doesn’t care enough to correct what you have to say about him when it’s wrong. Here’s that PGA interview again, continuing on from where I left off. Q. And in a broader sense, do you worry at all or ‑‑ BUBBA WATSON: I worry all the time. Q. Let me rephrase that. Do you care at all what people think of you? BUBBA WATSON: Truthfully, no. Because the way I’m trying to live my life, read the Bible, follow the Bible; I can’t worry about ‑‑ no matter what I do, no matter if I win every single tournament, half the world is going to love me and half the world is going to hate me no matter what. You can’t impress everybody and you can’t make everybody happy. It’s hard enough trying to make my wife happy, so I don’t need to worry about other people being happy. I care about what you think, though, because you write big articles (smiling). Bubba doesn’t care what you think of him.

Bubba doesn’t need to worry about you being happy, either. Because you only know him for his golf. And golf is not his everything. *** — Thomas Trahan (@ThomasTrahan) August 16, 2015 *** Make no mistake — even those that hate Bubba, like Chris Solomon, are at the very least entertained by him. “I would be lying if I said [I wish Bubba wasn’t out there swinging]. Golf is deficient on interesting characters that move the needle, and at minimum that’s what he is. Also, he gives me a lot of really easy material, so for that I’m thankful,” Solomon joked. “I’m more likely to tune in when he’s in contention, as are many fans at home.” That’s why we’re in the position we’re in. People who hate Bubba don’t want him to stop playing golf — in reality, that’s the only part of him they like. Rather, they want him to stop being Bubba. To stop with the verbal outbursts, the perceived hypocrisies, the shtick. Or do they?

If Bubba were no longer Bubba, would he still be as popular as he is? How much of what you know to be Bubba is himself, and how much of what you know to be Bubba is golf? And, most importantly, who cares? He’s not going to change for you, because he doesn’t care what you have to say. Because you are not his everything. Because golf is not his everything. Because no one thing is his everything. Back in 2012, before he won his first Masters, and before he was a household name, Bubba tweeted this: The most important thing in my life? Answer after I golf 18 holes with @JustinRose99 . #Godisgood — bubba watson (@bubbawatson) March 10, 2012 His eventual response? National Bubba Day June 2 - 2016 National Day National Bubba Day June 2 – 2016 National Bubba Day is popularly celebrated on 2nd June every year in United States of America. Bubba is a nickname produced from “brother”.

This nick is generally associated with the eldest male sibling. Bubba can also be the nick name of an intimate buddy who has significance similar to an elder brother in your life. Among plenty of boys and men, Bubba is used so often that it takes the place of the real call of that member of the family. National Bubba Day is celebrated to show honest regards to those people who are generally known as “Bubba”. Where is National Bubba Day Celebrated National Bubba Day is celebrated in the United States of America. Even though it is celebrated all around the US but it truly is a tradition from the southern area. The actual origin of this day is still not in the records. Famous Bubbas Among the most famous Bubbas, are: William Jefferson Clinton, commonly known as “Bill Clinton” was born on 19th August 1946. He continued to be the President of United States from 1993 to 2001. He is also nicked as Bubba in his folks. Charles Richard Bubba Wells, commonly known as “Bubba Wells” was born on 26th July 1974.

He is a retired Basketball Player. Darrell Wallace Jr., commonly known as “Bubba Wallace” was born on 8th October 1993. He is an expert stock car racing driver. Gerry Lester Bubba Watson, Jr., commonly known as “Bubba Watson” was born on 5th November 1978. He is a competent golf player. He represents PGA Tour. Charles Aaron Bubba Smith, commonly known as “Bubba Smith” was a born on 28th February 1945 and died on 3rd August, 2011. He was a skilled football player and after retirement from sports, he ended up being an actor. How to Celebrate National Bubba Day Celebrating National Bubba Day is pretty much simple. You just need to wish “Happy National Bubba Day” to your Bubba brother or mate, have some drinks and exchange presents. And that’s it….!!

Question: Which 'major-winning' golfer has the real first names Gerry Lester?
Answer: Bubba Watson