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Now that he’s a major champion, life will never be the same again for US Open winner Gary Woodland.
People are going to want a piece of him in a way they didn’t prior to his win at Pebble Beach under a fortnight ago.
That’s why, according to Bubba Watson, he’s going to have to learn to do one thing very quickly.
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Speaking ahead of this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, two-time Masters champion Watson shared what happened when he saw Woodland on the range earlier this week.
“First thing I said to him is ‘congrats’ and then I said, ‘You’ve got to learn the word ‘no’.’
“I’m not going to mention any names, but he said there were some other people who reached out to him and said,’ You’ve got to learn ‘no’’ real fast’
“Six months will go by real fast, and if you don’t say no, you’ll be tired. Six months from now he’ll be exhausted. With two young kids in his life, he’s got to watch it and make sure he saves his energy.
“But the word ‘no’ is going to be big because of sponsors, because of more fans, more people pulling at him, more tournaments pulling at him. You’ve just got to pace yourself.”
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Watson, 40, is well placed to comment, having won his first major at Augusta National in 2012 and then again in 2014.
“Not being negative, it’s just you’ve got to pace yourself,” he added. “You’re exhausted, you got pushed to the limit. It’s not about you don’t want to play golf or anything. It’s just you’ve got to rest and get excited about the game again and get the energy back.”
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