Bubba revels in pressure-free Masters start

Augusta: Twelve months after succumbing to the pressure of trying to retain his Masters title, Bubba Watson delivered a near-flawless display to soar up the leaderboard in Thursday`s opening round at Augusta National.

The power-hitting American left-hander, who is renowned for his audacious brand of `Bubba` golf, was the only player in the field of 97 to go bogey-free as he fired a three-under-par 69 on a firm, fast-running layout. Adopting the strategy of not looking at any leaderboards out on the course in a bid to maintain a blinkered focus, Watson birdied the third, 13th and 15th to end a day of unbroken sunshine one stroke behind pacesetting American Bill Haas. "It was really solid," Watson said of his blemish-free round. "You know, my whole goal, I`m not trying to look at leaderboards. I don`t want to give my secret but I`m trying to just hit greens. "Today I missed two greens. I missed one by six inches, missed one by three feet. I putted both of those, made pars. So I`m just trying to hit greens. "If I can hit greens that means I`ve hit good tee shots and I hit good iron shots and I`m just trying to make par from there and throw in a birdie here and there. And that`s what I did today." OVERWHELMED WATSON Last year Watson opened with a 75 and closed with a 77 to finish joint 50th on his Masters defence, overwhelmed by the task of trying to retain his crown. "It`s pressure," he said of his 2013 effort. "You`re playing Augusta National, one of the best golf courses in the world. The best golf course in the world. "The emotions are different because I`m trying to get the green jacket again. I had it, there`s so much you`re doing when you`re defending champ, and my mind can`t handle it. "But for me it was just overwhelming, the Champions Dinner, everybody still congratulating you, so I just never got the focus. I played really bad on Sunday last year." This year Watson feels he has returned to Augusta National flying under the radar and he is eager to take advantage. "I`m coming back with the take that I want the jacket again," said the 35-year-old who won his fifth PGA Tour title at the Northern Trust Open in February after shooting two 64s over the weekend. "I`m coming back with a different mindset, full of energy. I haven`t had any media this week because nobody cares about the guy a couple of years ago. So it`s been good." Watson, who clinched his maiden major title with a scintillating playoff victory over South African Louis Oosthuizen in the 2012 Masters, relished playing in sun-baked conditions on Thursday. "The course was really good," he said. "There were two greens that I know of that were a little crusty, a little hard, and were getting firm. But the course is in great shape. "This is probably the best I`ve seen it in a long time. And it seems to have suited me the last couple of years. The tee shots are pretty generous for me. I like to cut the ball and a lot of the holes go from right to left."