Dufnering, Bubba & 'Duck Dynasty'


The players on the PGA Tour can be stodgy sorts, and who can blame them? After all, golf is not a team sport and it's entirely up to the individual to find financial success and survive at the game's highest level.

But some of the players show their distinct personalities. Most recently, the normally laconic, floppy-haired Jason Dufner was caught on camera while slumping against a big world wall atlas in a grade school classroom - looking comatose with his hands underneath his backside - while making a public appearance.

The photo went viral after fellow pro Keegan Bradley retweeted the picture, which went around the Web. In response, Dufner tweeted an explanation, "I was tired, my back hurt from sitting on the floor, and we were talking about relaxation and focusing."

But it was too late - "Dufnering" was born.

Rory McIlroy then duplicated the pose - though he looked a bit haunted, followed by Luke Donald. Bubba Watson used props for his version, "Dufnering" in front of his General Lee car from the "Dukes of Hazard" TV show.

Before "Dufnering" came along, there were videos of the "Golf Boys" - Ben Crane, Hunter Mahan, Watson and Rickie Fowler, which included songs, dancing and goofy costumes. Crane also has a series of hilarious golf-related exercise videos on YouTube.

On Wednesday, more personalities came out on the eve of the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a $6.6 million tournament that starts Thursday at TPC Louisiana and where Dufner is the defending champion.

It's pretty rare at a Tour stop that you'll see the likes of the brothers who played with Watson - who won here in 2011. The Bagdad, Fla., native and 2012 Masters' champion was paired with two stars of the popular reality show, "Duck Dynasty."

The ZZ Top-looking brothers, Jase and Willie Robertson, natives of Monroe, La., paid $6,000 apiece to play with Bubba, with the money going to the Fore Kids Foundation.

Unfortunately, the group only completed nine holes as heavy rains, lightning and a severe weather warning halted play in the charity Pro-Am. But afterward, Watson, Jase and Willie found time to meet with reporters to discuss their day.

Here's what the folksy trio had to say to reporters during their Wednesday exchange.

Q. Talk about playing golf out there with the "Duck Dynasty" guys?

BUBBA WATSON: You know, they're athletic and they love sports. Obviously, they practice, but probably not as much as I do. But obviously, Willie made a birdie on the first hole. Jase is in the restroom right now, but when he comes back, Jase made a birdie on No. 6 on the course. So they can play. Justin really held it together because he got a lot of strokes today. So we were 9 under through 9.

WILLIE: Let me translate that, yes, we can play.

BUBBA WATSON: Really, they can't. But, yes, they can. Jase is right here. I said you made a birdie on 6.

JASE: Yeah, I did make a birdie on 6.

Q. Are you guys fans of Bubba?

JASE: Yeah. He's the greatest. I mean, he's a legend.

WILLIE: He's a legend.

BUBBA WATSON: I didn't say it this time. They said it.

WILLIE: Yeah, down here he's legend. We're all people down here. No, we've been hanging out with Bubba a little while now. We met each other actually on social media, and been hanging out and share a lot of the same values. You know, love golf, and we're all about the same level, so, yeah, it works out.

BUBBA WATSON: I'm a good hunter too.

JASE: Oh, yeah.

WILLIE: No, he's not.

Q. Are you fan of the show? Are you fans of these guys?

BUBBA WATSON: Y'all have a show? What show is that?

WILLIE: It's called "Duck Dynasty."

JASE: Did you see that plug?

BUBBA WATSON: What day does it come on?

WILLIE: Wednesdays. I think tonight is the finale.

BUBBA WATSON: What channel's that come on?

JASE: A & E. There you go.

BUBBA WATSON: Just plugging y'all in there.

WILLIE: Good plug.

Q. What did you learn out there on the course today?

JASE: Learned he's a pretty good trash talker. He was actually talking about how long and loopy my golf swing was which I found ironic.

WILLIE: The ball didn't go long, just his swing is long.

JASE: What are you talking about?

WILLIE: Yeah, you can't hit it nowhere.

Q. Friendly competition among brothers. Willie said he's the best.

JASE: He actually played pretty good today. I'll give him credit. But I was coming on strong. I started off a little weak. I had some guy blowing a duck call on my back swing, Bubba.

WILLIE: Yeah, he wears me down. By looking at me you would think I'm in real good shape, but I'm not. So, typically, especially walking, I wear down more. So he was waiting for that to happen, but the rain saved me.

JASE: Willie was actually the only guy happy for the rain.

BUBBA WATSON: Hey, we had a bet it was going to be 14 where he was going to get tired. But on number 7 today he actually said I'm pretty tired right now. So it was 7 holes earlier you said it.

WILLIE: It's a lot of walking.

BUBBA WATSON: Yeah, going back and forth, one side of the golf course to the other side.

JASE: I actually found my happy place. I was struggling till about 5, and then I heard the bullfrogs cranking in the background, and that's my happy thought. After that, I went par, birdie, par. So figured, you know, you've got to have your happy thought.

Q. I know a year ago you came here and it was like a whirlwind after The Masters. You seemed, I don't want to say a little bit tired, but it was obviously a long two weeks.

BUBBA WATSON: No, I was tired.

Q. How do you feel coming back now? A little more refreshed.

BUBBA WATSON: I feel good. Every time I come here, again, this is the closest one to Pensacola, Florida, so friends and family come in. It's a fun time here, good food. So when I get here, I get energized. I get excited. Won here two years ago, so I'm pumped up. I'm pumped up to play this golf course. I want to perform well, and I've been playing well. Just some breaks haven't went my way. I missed a couple momentum putts, so I just haven't played as well as I wanted to. But, all in all, I know that I have the game and the ability to do it. So now I've got to figure out a way to beat some of these guys this week.

Q. What, in particular, do you think you need to improve upon that hasn't quite been going as you'd expect in the first part of the season?

BUBBA WATSON: It's not really one thing you can pinpoint. Some days your driving's not good; some days your iron's not as good; you make putts; you miss putts. But again, it's about the mental focus. I've always said that, the mental focus. You've got to be prepared and you've got to take bad shots with the good shots. So when you get excited about a birdie, you can't get too excited about a bogey or a missed step or missed putt. You've got to hang in there and know that you've got 72 holes to make it up.

Q. Are these guys helping your mental focus?

BUBBA WATSON: You know, it's funny. You always look at the top in all sports. Obviously, these are well known duck hunters. They know how to hunt; they know how to shoot. So when you ask them questions, especially our belief system and everything, when you ask them questions, you can learn from a lot of people. You can learn from celebrities, athletes. You can always learn from people that are top of their game and figure out how they do things and how they deal with situations.

Q. They say you've brought some flavor to the PGA Tour. James Harden has the beard in basketball. Any desire to have something like these guys have going on that they've become famous for on your face?

BUBBA WATSON: No, I look way too good to cover up my face (laughing). They have to cover up their face to be on TV, but I look perfect, so I've got no reason to do that.

Q. Just enjoying this tournament so far? Do you plan to stick around a little bit?

WILLIE: Yeah, we're going to hang around and keep eating. There is a lot of food here, so we'll definitely do that. Hospitality's second to none down here in New Orleans. This is our state, so it's just cool to be down here for us in our home state. Never been to the event. It's worth doing a TV show so we get to come here and do stuff like this.

JASE: Oh, yeah. But we genuinely enjoy Louisiana. We try to represent it in a positive way, but we always feel at home. The food is always fantastic. Everywhere else, it tastes bland. You leave Louisiana, my mom when she goes, she takes some Cajun seasoning with her because it's almost inedible. So we're enjoying it.

The transcript for the above interview is courtesy of ASAP Sports.