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Seve Ballesteros had perhaps the greatest imagination of anyone to ever play the game, but Bubba Watson is hoping his own ability to think outside of the box will help him triumph at Hoylake this week.

Watson utilised his imagination to win his first Masters title in 2010, and he believes his way of thinking is exactly what is needed this week if he is to take on the challenge of links golf and win.

“The sad thing, for me, is that it’s one week out of the year. So I’m coming over here trying to learn the game real fast or learn the style of golf real fast. So far it hasn’t worked out well for me.” – Bubba Watson

The 35-year-old said: “I think it fits. Again, it’s like any golf tournament, you can hit a lot of great shots, but you’ve got to make putts. You’ve got to learn how to make putts around here.

“For me, it’s always about trying to control the ball the right distance. I like to hit low shots. Maybe I need to start trying to hit high shots around here, because I haven’t had that many low finishes at the Open.

“I love the creativity this kind of golf provides. I haven’t been successful at it yet, but hopefully over the next few years I can get better at it.”

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Watson finds it difficult to adapt to links golf

The field has an international flavour to it and like many of his fellow competitors; Watson hasn’t had much experience of links golf outside of the Open Championship. The two-time Masters champion, however, takes inspiration from several of his fellow countrymen who have been successful in golf’s oldest tournament.

He added: “You’re coming over here, it’s a different style of golf than what we’ve played all year, for me, playing in the States. So when you come over here, the wind is harder, the wind is stronger. The grass is obviously different, the style of golf is different. You have to adapt your game a lot.

“The sad thing, for me, is that it’s one week out of the year. So I’m coming over here trying to learn the game real fast or learn the style of golf real fast. So far it hasn’t worked out well for me.

“It was inspiring to see Tom Watson a few years ago have that chance, and watching Phil win for the first time, it’s really neat seeing that. It’s always inspiring when you see some friends of yours play well.”

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