When defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler ran into two-time winner Bubba Watson whereas on trip in Tennessee late final yr, he joked that he was going to have a separate desk for him in a nook on the Champions Dinner at Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership in April.
Watson is amongst six former Masters champions who at the moment are enjoying within the LIV Golf League and are suspended from collaborating in PGA Tour occasions.
Scheffler was joking, after all, however Watson mentioned Tuesday that he’ll sit wherever he is advised so long as he can attend the annual custom that’s reserved for gamers who’ve gained inexperienced jackets.
“Hey, so long as I am within the Champions Dinner, I am tremendous,” Watson advised reporters in a information convention on the Saudi Worldwide. “I am going to sit wherever he tells me. It is tremendous. So long as I am allowed again, I am going to sit wherever he needs me to. I am going to sit exterior and simply stare within the window.”
Watson, who gained the Masters in 2012 and 2014, mentioned he was “very grateful” that he will get to return to play within the first main championship of the season. Augusta Nationwide chairman Fred Ridley introduced in December that gamers who’ve certified beneath earlier standards used to find out the sphere, together with previous champions, can be invited again in April.
Previous Masters champions Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed and Charl Schwartzel are additionally competing on the LIV Golf circuit.
Up to now, Watson was there to assist amateurs who have been competing within the Augusta Nationwide Girls’s Newbie and the junior Drive, Chip and Putt nationwide finals at Augusta Nationwide. He’ll miss these occasions this yr, nonetheless, as LIV Golf scheduled a event in Orlando, Florida, the week earlier than the Masters.
“Nevertheless it’s one yr,” Watson mentioned. “I will positively be within the ears of individuals at LIV and attempt to see if I can get again there as a result of I wish to assist what the Masters means to the sport of golf, what the membership of Augusta means to the sport of golf, and I’d like to be there for the Girls’s Newbie and the youngsters on Sunday.
“It is a little bit upsetting that I will be enjoying golf the week earlier than in Orlando, however I do know it is for the very best, and I will be there supporting my group and attempting to win that trophy. However I am going to get to Augusta as quick as I can.”
