2009 SPRING SCORE CARD
JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME
Nick Watney rallies from behind to win
Starting out the final round of the Buick Invitational five shots back from
the leader, John Rollins, Nick Watney knew it was not going to be an easy
day. But one of the lessons Watney learned from playing for his uncle at
Fresno State was that winning a golf tournament is never easy. With only
five holes left to play and behind three shots, he took heed of that
advice and didn’t give up.
“I just tried to keep my head down and give myself chances and I was able to make some putts.”
First came the 40-foot birdie that worked its way down toward the 16th hole, sputtered slightly and fell into the cup. Then on the 72nd hole of the tournament, he sank a 3-foot birdie for the lead– the one and only time all week– and the win.
“If you're going to lead for one hole, this is the time to do it,” Watney said with a wide grin. He finished 11-under 277.
Rollins, on the other hand, let this one get away. He knocked in a 20-foot eagle on the 13th hole to restore his threestrokes margin and appeared to have the tournament in hand. But he hit a poor chip that led to a boogey on the 14th, had a plugged lie in a bunker on the 16th that was so miserable he had to scramble to escape with a bogey, then pulled his second shot on the 18th into a bunker, missing a 12-foot birdie putt.
“It’s unfortunate that I came in with a three-shot lead and couldn’t get the victory,” Rollins said. “But as I said yesterday, if somebody came out and played a great round of golf and came out on top, then my hat’s off to him. And that’s exactly what Nick did.”
 |
|
