I'm no crybaby, says sobbing Bubba Watson

As one of the biggest hitters on the professional golf tour, Bubba Watson has rarely had to defend his manhood.                             

But after his emotions got the better of him and he broke down in tears at the US PGA Championship on Thursday, the American jokingly pleaded his case.                                           

"Hopefully you all don't think I'm a sissy," he told a news conference. "You know I do hit the ball a long way."

His gag drew a laugh from his audience and helped break the sombre mood after he candidly revealed the private torment he has endured in the past year.   

Watson had previously revealed that his father was suffering with cancer but he said his wife, a former professional basketballer, had also had a serious health scare.                                          

Last December, his wife was told by a doctor she had a cancerous tumour and it was not for another two months that further tests by a neurosurgeon showed the initial diagnosis was wrong.                                           

"He said it was just an enlarged tumour, I mean an enlarged pituitary gland," Watson explained.                                           

"It wasn't anything (unusual) for a girl six foot or taller, it's normal to have an enlarged pituitary gland.

"So the first doctor told us the wrong diagnosis, but we didn't know that at the time, so it was scary."                                           

Watson said his father's illness and his wife's scare had heightened his emotions but had also helped him maintain a healthy perspective on golf.

He is one of the few professionals never to have had a lesson and has no intention of starting for fear it might take away some of his pure enjoyment of the game.   

"I've never been tempted. The game comes natural to me. It's fun and I don't want to make it a job," he said.                                           

"I do this because I love it. A few times over the years I've been angry and my wife has yelled at me a few times and said 'why are you angry, this is what you love to do'.

"If I get a lesson, that means it's a job and that means I think I'm not good enough anymore." 

Watson, one of the few lefthanders on the tour and a player renowned for his improvisation, has found success with his unusual approach.

Earlier this year, he won his first PGA Tour title, dedicating the win to his parents. On Thursday, he charged to a share of the clubhouse lead at the US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, shooting four-under-par 68.

He was tied with Italy's Francesco Molinari, who also shot 68, and three other players who did not finish their first rounds because the start of play on the opening day was delayed by fog.

"It's a major championship, it would be an honour to win," he said.  

"That's how I approach every golf tournament. I don't change the way I do anything.  I still hit driver as much as I can and hopefully chip and get up and down and make putts."