Buick Invitational: Final-Round Notes  PGA TOUR Media Official LA JOLLA, Calif. -- With his runner-up finish this week at the Buick Invitational, Charles Howell III takes over the top spot in the FedExCup points standings. Howell has 4,951 points to lead Vijay Singh by 230 points (4,721). Charley Hoffman is third with 4,639, Paul Goydos is fourth with 4,564 and Tiger Woods fifth with 4,500. Howell is the only player among the top five not to win a tournament yet this year. The other four players have accounted for wins in each of the first four weeks of the season.  Hoisting trophies has become a happy routine for Tiger Woods. (Steve Grayson/WireImage)
• Tiger Woods became the first player this week to eagle the 613-yard, par-5 ninth hole when he holed a 26-foot putt on Sunday. Woods was one of four players to reach the green in two this week and the third to do it on Sunday. Robert Allenby did it in the first round and both Brett Wetterich and Phil Mickelson did it during the final round. • Tiger Woods' bogey at the par-4 seventh hole Sunday was his only bogey over the final 36 holes. • Rookie Brandt Snedeker capped off a solid week with a birdie-4 on the 72nd hole to finish alone in third. Snedeker held the outright lead after the first and second rounds and was a co-leader after 54 holes. His check for $353,600 was more than he made in 26 starts on the 2006 Nationwide Tour. He also collected enough FedExCup points to move to No. 13 on the season list. • Ryan Palmer withdrew after completing three holes Sunday. Palmer flew home to Texas to join his wife, Jennifer, who is expecting the couple's first child. • Jeff Quinney eagled the par-5 sixth hole for the second straight day. Quinney rolled in a 40-foot putt on the hole Sunday. Saturday's eagle putt was from 3 feet, 4 inches. • Charles Howell is off to a solid start in 2007, thanks to his second place this week, his second top-2 effort in three weeks. Howell tied for second at the Sony Open in Hawaii to begin his season. Last year when Howell finished No. 52 on the money list, he didn't register his second top-5 finish until his 24th start of the season. Howell has now earned $1,029,450 and is No. 2 on the money list. • Nick Watney was the only player in the field to play a bogey-free round on Sunday. Watney had one birdie and 17 pars and wound up 9 under and tied for ninth. Watney was also bogey-free on Saturday. In fact, his last bogey came on the third hole (double bogey) during Friday's second round, a stretch of 51 consecutive holes without a bogey. For the week, Watney had only one bogey (Thursday, North Course) and one double bogey (Friday, South Course). Watney shot scores of 69-70-71 on the South Course. • Mark Calcavecchia shot a final-round 69 to wind up 11-under par and tied for fourth. Calcavecchia has played in this event 13 times and has made seven cuts with six top-10 finishes. This was his best showing in San Diego since a runner-up finish in 1995. • The best rounds of the day on Sunday were the 66 by Tiger Woods, the 67 by Bubba Watson and the 68s by Robert Allenby, Ian Poulter and Charles Howell III. • Tiger Woods and Jeff Quinney each had three eagles this week. Woods had two on the North Course Thursday (Nos. 18 and 9) and added the third at No. 9 on the South Course Sunday. Quinney also eagled No. 18 on the North Course Thursday before he eagled No. 6 on South Course on Saturday and Sunday. • Rookie Andrew Buckle held a two-stroke lead after 10 holes Sunday and was 15 under par. He got in trouble at No. 12 and made double bogey to fall one shot behind Tiger Woods. Buckle suffered consecutive bogeys at 15 and 16 and settled for a final-round 72 and a tie for fourth, four shots back of winner Tiger Woods. • Andrew Buckle continues to improve each week during his rookie season on the PGA TOUR. Buckle tied for 28th at the Sony Open in Hawaii two weeks ago and tied for 18th at last week's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. The 24-year old Aussie's T4 finish this week was worth $214,933. He has now collected $307,740 in his three starts and is No. 17 on the money list and is No. 16 on the FedExCup points list. • Lefty Bubba Watson posted an early 5-under-par 67 and then watched as his name steadily moved up the leader board. Watson wound up tied for third, matching his career-best finish (T3, 2006 Chrysler Classic of Tucson). Watson made the 36-hole cut on the number and tied for 52nd heading into the weekend, when he shot scores of 69-67. • Bart Bryant shot a final-round 69 to wind up tied for 7th, his best finish on TOUR since a runner-up effort at the 2006 Canadian Open. • For the 10th straight time, Tiger Woods improved his standing on the leader board during the final round at the Buick Invitational. In every career start at Torrey Pines, Woods has moved forward on the last day. Woods' 66 today gives him a final-round scoring average at 67.70 at Torrey Pines. • Tiger Woods' 66 on Sunday marked the 22nd consecutive round at par or better in the Buick Invitational. Woods' only above-par score in 39 total rounds dating back to 1998 is a second-round 77 in 2002. Woods has never finished worse that T10 in his 10 career starts in this event. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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