Adoption final, golf star Bubba Watson plays PGA Championship as ‘family man’

KIAWAH ISLAND — On Monday, Masters champion Bubba Watson took to his Twitter account to announce, “Everyone, adoption is final! FYI, I may have cried!”

Watson and his wife, Angie, have adopted a 5 1/2-month old boy named Caleb, with the adoption becoming final on Monday. That makes the 94th PGA Championship Watson’s first tournament as an official dad.

And the 32-year-old left-hander from Bagdad, Fla., couldn’t be happier.

“Monday was a great day for us,” Watson said today after a practice round at the Ocean Course. “The adoption is final, and that’s the most important thing. And now we’re going on to win this tournament.”

The adoption has been a long process for the Watsons, and Bubba has missed some tournaments because of it.

“Golf obviously is way down the list of priorities,” he said. “That (the adoption) came first. A lot of people go through it, but trying to travel across the U.S., trying to travel outside the country and playing golf made it a little bit more difficult. But somehow it all worked out.”

And now Bubba will work out how to balance being a dad and one of the biggest stars in golf.

“Hopefully I will do better in the family man than the golf, because that’s the most important,” he said. “My wife comes first, then the baby, and golf is down the list.”

“If I never play golf again, I can still be a great dad. That’s the key, and that’s where my life stands.”

Wife and son are with Watson this week — “They’re always with me,” he said — but make no mistake, he still wants to swing that big pink driver.

“I’m here to play golf,” he said. “I want to play golf. I enjoy the game of golf. I want the challenge to beat everybody, but at the same time I want to be a good husband and good dad.”