New dad Bubba gets back to business

(CNN) -- If it was left up to Bubba Watson, he'd be at home changing diapers instead of defending his New Orleans title this week.

Ahead of Thursday's opening round at the Zurich Classic, reigning champ Bubba admitted he'd rather be caring for his adopted baby boy Caleb than on the green at TPC Louisiana.

In fact, the 33-year-old Masters champion is so unconcerned with his golfing triumphs, he hasn't even touched the coveted green jacket won in Augusta earlier this month. Well, only to post a picture of it on Twitter hanging next to Caleb's identical tiny outfit.

"Truthfully, I haven't thought about being a major champ," he told reporters.

Just over a month after adopting Caleb with wife Angie, the devout Christian insisted: "It's all about my son and being a better husband.

Wacky world of Bubba Watson

Masters champ. Bubba Watson talks family

Bubba Watson receives the green jacket from 2011 winner Charl Schwartzel of South Africa.

Bubba Watson made his move with four straight birdies on the back nine.

Louis Oosthuizen celebrates his double eagle from the second fairway in the final round of the Masters at Augusta National.

Phil Mickelson watches his shot from the rough at the fourth on the way to a triple bogey.

Tiger Woods continued to struggle in the final round with a two-over-par 74 to finish five-over.

Bubba dons the green jacket

Bubba's birdie burst

Oosthuizen's dramatic double eagle

Mickelson halted by triple bogey

Tiger's troubles continue

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Bubba Watson wins Masters after playoff at Augusa

Ernie Els is most famous for his golfing exploits, but as his career reaches its twilight years he is focusing on a cause dear to his heart.

The former world No. 1swings his son Ben over his shoulder during the fourth annual Els for Autism Pro-Am charity golf tournament, held in March 2012.

Ben, seen here at another fundraising tournament in 2010, was diagnosed with autism when he was four years old.

Now nine, the youngster still struggles to speak and attends a specialist school in Florida. He is pictured here with his father in their former home in England in 2003.

Els often returns to his native South Africa for vacations with his wife Liezl, Ben and daughter Samantha. He has invested heavily in the Cape region where he grew up, opening a golf foundation for disadvantaged youngsters, a wine and restaurant business and a resort.

Els (pictured with Liezl with Ben in 2011) says he has met some families with three autistic children and admitted it would be "one of the hardest things in the world."

Close to home

A playful dad

Learning from the best

Ben diagnosed

South African roots

A family's love

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Ernie Els: A father's love

"I haven't seen the green jacket, the green jacket's been hanging in the closet since the Wednesday of all the media stuff so I haven't touched it since then. I held the baby jacket right up next to it for the Twitter photo but I haven't touched it, I haven't thought about winning."

But with money raised from the Fore!Kids Foundation throughout the tournament going towards helping rebuild a city still struggling in the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina, big-hearted Bubba admitted the Zurich Classic was simply too important an event to miss.

Plus there's the fans who will be hoping to catch a glimpse of the reigning champ hitting the type of miraculous shot that won him the trophy in Augusta.

Bubba burst into tears after escaping out of woods on the 10th fairway in a playoff against South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen.

But despite bawling on his mother's shoulder in front of the media scrum, Watson insists he is unfazed by his wins. At New Orleans, there are more important things at stake.

"I thought about coming here because I owed it to the fans being the defending champion," he said.

"Winning a tournament, no matter if it's a major or not, it's a big deal, it's a major event for that city as it is about raising charity dollars -- especially round this place. They would love some charity dollars to build the city back up to where it used to be."

Fresh from the media whirlwind that has surrounded him since taking the Masters, Bubba played up to his "average Joe" appeal.

"I'm just Bubba from Bagdad, Florida," he said.

"Small town. Play golf because it's fun. Every day is different. Some days it's windy, some days it's not, some days the ground is firm, some days it's wet. You wake up, it's always a challenge. So you always challenge yourself, you always set goals for yourself," he said.

"I think that resonates -- that's a big word, there -- with everybody. It resonates with everybody because I'm from a small town, I played public golf courses growing up, and I think that everybody can see that.

"Everybody can see that my swing is homegrown. That means everybody has a chance to do it. Hard work, dedication, practice and the drive to do it and not worry about what other people say."