Bubba Watson’s ill-fated trip to the French Open came to an ignominious end yesterday when he missed the cut and set about blaming everyone else for his pitiful showing.
By way of contrast, James Morrison, the 26-year-old Englishman, took the lead after a second successive round of 66 before revealing that he had been so unwell during the week that he feared he would not even make it to the opening tee.
While Watson was topping, hooking and hacking his way towards a 74, and a six-over-par total of 148, Morrison was making light of the challenge at the intimidating Le Golf National, on the outskirts of Versailles.
It was a remarkable performance from Morrison, who played cricket for England youth sides as a batsman, considering that he had spent most of Tuesday evening in hospital being treated for an inflamed intestine that was causing him to pass blood.
Morrison, who has Crohn’s disease — an inflammatory bowel condition — was put on a course of steroids to reduce the swelling and went into the tournament making few demands of himself. And how such a strategy worked. Starting at the 10th yesterday, he had pars at each of his first nine holes, then let rip over his inward half, coming home in 31, with five birdies. In 36 holes, he has dropped a solitary stroke and, on ten under par, leads Richard Green, of Australia, by one.
Advertisement
“I’ve had Crohn’s for ten years now and have got used to dealing with it on a daily basis,” Morrison said. “I had a flare-up this week that came out of nowhere. I’m a little bit drained and feel the worse for wear, but I’ve played better because I don’t have any expectations.”
It has been a particularly tough year for Morrison and his wife, Jessica, who has undergone treatment for a cancerous ovarian cyst and suffered two miscarriages in the past three months. The situation has affected his form on the course in recent weeks, with Morrison — who claimed his maiden victory on the European Tour at the Madeira Islands Open in Portugal last year — missing the cut in his past four tournaments.
He has an appointment with his specialist on Wednesday week, the day before the Open Championship begins at Royal St George’s, in Sandwich, Kent, but could claim one of the last spots in the Open by finishing in the top five here. “I know, I know,” he said when reminded of it. “I just don’t want to think about it.”
One player with plenty to think about is Watson. He said that he “had not been paid a dime” to play in France, but was doing a favour for one of his sponsors. Most surprising, the American, who is ranked No 12 in the world, made little or no effort to embrace the tournament and almost went out of his way to run it down.
Asked about the course after the first round, he spoke only of France and Paris — one of them “nice”, the other “beautiful”.
Advertisement
Then, in an attempt to explain why things had not worked out for him in his first European Tour event, he went on the attack.
He was graceless and, with every word uttered, damned himself in the eyes of many, including some other players and one caddie, who reportedly gave him a piece of his mind. “It’s not a normal tournament,” Watson said. “There’s cameras, there’s phones, there’s everything. No security. I don’t know which holes to walk through. There’s no ropes. It’s very strange to me. Just very uncomfortable.”
So, will he stick to his word and steer clear of Europe from now on? “I’ll play the British [the Open in two weeks’ time] because it’s a major,” he said. “That’s the only reason.”
Only three Americans are in the world top ten at present. And in his own small way, Watson has shown exactly why.