Ryder Cup 2012: Bubba Watson’s first tee shot whips fans into frenzy

There’s getting the crowd into it and then there’s Bubba feeding the frenzy of an amped-up home-town fandom.

In case you had any question about why Watson is such a crowd pleaser, check out how the Masters champ urges the rowdy Ryder Cup gallery to cheer him on for his opening tee shot in Friday afternoon’s four-ball match. Seriously, is there another golfer on the planet who would not demand total silence for that all-important first drive in any tourney, let alone the pressure-packed theater that is the Ryder Cup?

The closest you’ll get to such a scene is on the 16th hole at the Phoenix Open, where it’s pretty much a requirement for spectators to give the golfers stick.

Back at Medinah, you gotta love the cheerleading by Watson’s and Webb Simpson’s caddies, who do their version of the wave to get the bleacher creatures in on Bubba’s act.

Watson, by the way, boomed his first drive as only Bubba can, and he and Simpson were 6-up through eight over Peter Hanson and Paul Lawrie in their p.m. session.