Watson keeps winning, family keeps growing

At the rate they’re synchronizing years with major victories and adoptions, the Watsons might need to get a bigger house.

Bubba Watson’s first Masters Tournament victory in 2012 came shortly on the heels of his and wife Angie’s adoption of their infant son, Caleb, two weeks earlier. His second green jacket, in 2014, was punctuated at year’s end with their adopting a newborn daughter, they named Dakota.

The timing, once again, centered on a big professional moment for Watson. After winning a playoff at the World Golf Championship event in Shanghai, China, in dramatic fashion, Watson got the celebratory phone call from his wife as she was leaving for the hospital to be there for Dakota’s delivery by caesarean section.

Watson won the WGC-HSBC Champions after forcing a playoff with Tim Clark by holing a long bunker shot for eagle on the 72nd hole, prompting a hysterical celebration.

“It was funny, because Angie on the phone said, ‘Maybe we need to keep adopting because you keep winning these big events,’” Watson said.

Dakota was born while Watson was on the second week of his Asian swing in November. That made it a little bittersweet for Watson.

“Instead of me canceling out of these tournaments, because we knew this adoption was going to happen, I stayed in them,” he said.”

Watson came home to Florida with their new daughter already in Angie’s arms, waiting for the official paperwork to be processed.

“It was crazy showing up, but it was a dream,” he said. “Obviously, this is the first child we’ve had from birth. It was exciting. I’ve always dreamed of having a little girl and a boy. It’s what you want. Being able to pick – which I know sounds weird – through adoption made it where my dream could come true.”

Watson kept it a secret until after the 2015 season started, but it helped explain his enthusiastic reaction to winning in China.

“So chipping in and then making that putt, that scream, all those things, were because of the stuff behind the closed doors that nobody knew about,” he said.

Watson picked the first name, Dakota, while his wife chose her middle name, Hope.

“It was a different name that we don’t really see much or hear much out here on tour,” Watson said. “And with Angie, Bubba, Caleb and Dakota, it’s A-B-C-D.”

Watson has gotten used to parenting his now 3-year-old son, taking him to the practice range across the street from their home and crying helplessly when instructors threw him into the pool fully clothed for survival swimming lessons when he was 1.

“It’s scary – I couldn’t look and you know I cry at anything,” Watson said.

An infant daughter is a unique challenge.

“It’s a different – I guess you have to be softer,” he said. “You have to be more gentle, I guess you’d say. My son … he wants to wrestle. He wants to jump around and run into things. And my daughter … she still can’t move or do anything like that. But still, you can just tell, softer. And Angie wants to dress her up like she’s a baby doll. She’s got all these hair bows and all these things to make sure you know she’s a female.

“It’s different. It’s a different feeling. Same loving feeling, but different girl from boy. He’s a tank and she’s a little princess, I guess.”

Rickie Fowler spent the week of the Hero Challenge at Isleworth staying with the Watsons while the newness of Dakota’s presence was settling into the family dynamic. He noticed how well fatherhood suits Watson.

“He’s an awesome dad,” said Fowler, calling Watson’s parenting style “fun.” “With him being kind of a big kid himself, he’s able to have a lot of fun with the kids, from playing around outside to messing around in the game room and stuff at the house. He definitely enjoys it.”

Fowler said that parenting has helped mature Watson and perhaps has helped his performance at work.

“Being around him, seeing him with Caleb and Dakota, he loves it,” Fowler said. “They both love being around their dad. It’s been pretty special to see him over the past few years kind of change and turn into the man he is now. I feel like it’s helped him. Obviously he’s had a lot of success since they have had Caleb and the family. It’s pretty special to see what they have been able to do for two kids’ lives.”

Switching from one to two children in the house hasn’t affected Watson much.

“It’s easy with Dakota – she’s not doing anything,” he said. “But little man’s 3 now, so he’s running around screaming. It’s really no difference once you have two. It’s been a fun ride. … I mean, he’s full-on right now. I’m not sleeping very much. He wants to party all the time. He keeps trying to take my toys, and I’m not sharing with him.”

But the unique circumstances of the adoptions are something Watson can share with both children. He said it will make for easy reference points when they are old enough to understand their origins.

“It was cool, because when I won in 2012 at the Masters, I talked about Caleb the whole time,” Watson said. “There’s a lot of videos showing that we loved him, even though we adopted him. Same thing with Dakota. I won a big tournament three or four days right before she was born. So there’s more things we can talk about when she gets old enough and explain things to her. So it worked out good in our favor, I guess you could say.”

If Watson keeps collecting major titles, Angie, Bubba, Caleb and Dakota might have to think up names that begin with “E” and “F” should the family keep growing.

“Now (Angie) is pushing for another one, but I’m putting my foot down right now,” Watson said. “I probably won’t win.”