'Anxieties And Stress Were Eating Me Alive' - Bubba Watson Opens Up On Mental Health Struggles During Double Masters Win Era

Two-time Masters champion, Bubba Watson has revealed how he lost 40lbs in weight due to anxiety and stress around the peak of his career.

Watson enjoyed an excellent career on the PGA Tour between 2010 and 2018, winning 10 regular titles and twice slipping on the Masters Green Jacket before later moving across to the LIV Golf League and establishing the RangeGoats GC.

However, it was near the start of his appearance at the highest level that the Bagdad, Florida-born pro began to suffer with mental health issues that badly affected his way of life.

Speaking to Pat McAfee in a wide-ranging interview, Watson shared how he became too focused on what other people thought of him and mistakenly obsessed on how his golfing ability would reflect who he was as a person.

The 46-year-old said: "My struggle was, when I played golf and 24 hours of [watching] Golf Channel, when I'd shoot bad, it made me think they were judging me as a person - you know, because I shot 75 or I double-bogeyed the last to lose, or triple-bogeyed one of the holes.

Bubba Watson Roasts Pat McAfee's Golf Swing, Opens Up About Anxiety & Mental Health Issues - YouTube

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"I was letting that define who Bubba Watson was, and so I was going the wrong way. It took many years, it wasn't overnight. It started from like, we'll say 2009, all the way up to 2014.

"I went from 200lbs to 160lbs. So I went to the doctor, did all these tests and the doctor said 'there's nothing wrong with you' and I said 'well, there is - look at me.' It was just that anxieties and stress were eating me alive.

"I was eating food, I wasn't changing my diet, but I was losing weight. That's when we realized I was just battling anxiety and stress because I was letting golf dictate who I was as a person."

Having made steps to change his way of thinking and returned to a more natural body mass, Watson went on to win five more PGA Tour titles prior to his LIV Golf switch.

Watson explained how wanting to extend his entrepreneurial portfolio - which already contained an ice cream shop and part ownership in the Pensacola Blue Wahoos Minor League Baseball team - plus wishing to spend more time with his two adopted children was behind a large part of his decision to trade tours.

Three full seasons have passed since he initially signed, with Watson highlighting how efficiently his roles - both as a golfer and a dad - work together these days.

He said: "Now that my kids are older, my kids come out and go to the tournaments with me. They're allowed on the range with me, they're allowed to do whatever - I'm the owner of the team!

"I love it. We have time off, the PGA Tour quit having time off, we started going year round. So being able to spend time with my kids and watch them play sports is a dream come true, and they love watching me play golf. My son is getting old enough now that he can walk all 18 holes and follow me, and so it's a blast out there.

"And like going to Spain and London, we're going to stop over in Rome and let him see Rome for a couple of days. I love it."

While the former World No.2 stated how much he has enjoyed life since joining LIV, Watson explained how, competitively, it can be tougher for certain players - simply because of the smaller enforced schedule.

Comparing the nuances of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League schedules, Watson said: "The PGA Tour schedule, there's 40 events. For me, you pick your top-20. Courses that you believe fit your game, and you can do that.

"But now on LIV, it's tougher because you've got 14 weeks and you have to play in all 14, no matter whether all courses suck for you or all the courses are good for you. You have to change your game and try to figure out your game with how you can play and attack each course, even though it might not be the courses you want to play at.

"And on the PGA Tour, out of 40, you can find some that you can play well and perform at so you can keep your card."