The Live Report, Round 4: Buick Invitational
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WATNEY A WINNER (6:50 p.m.): Another Californian has won the Buick Invitational. Watney, who grew up in northern California and was a star at Fresno State, locked up his second career PGA TOUR victory with a birdie on the par-5 18th at Torrey Pines.
John Rollins, tied with Watney going into the hole, could only manage a par after finding the greenside bunker on his approach shot.
For Watney, it's his first win since the 2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. -- Brian Wacker
DOWN TO THE 18TH (6:30 p.m.): With John Rollins and Nick Watney tied for the lead going to 18 -- and Camilo Villegas one back -- here's a look at how the three have fared on the hole this week:
Rollins: Birdie (round 2), bogey (round 3).
Watney: Birdie (round 2), par (round 3).
Villegas: Birdie (round 2), par (round 3). -- Brian Wacker
GLOVER STUMBLES (6:15 p.m.): Don't be surprised if this one lingers awhile in Lucas Glover's mind.
The long-hitting Glover used 3-wood off the tee on No. 17 to avoid the fairway bunkers on the right, only to leave his tee shot in rough so deep all he could do was pitch out into the fairway. The result was a costly bogey that dropped him back to 8 under.
He managed a bidie on the par-5 18th to get back to 9 under, but with John Rollins having a semi-implosion down the stretch, it looks like that bogey, plus a couple of missed putts today, could prove very costly to a player who's trying to win for the first time since 2005. And given his body language, I'd say Glover looks a lot like the old Pat Perez: Ready to explode. -- Brian Wacker
KEEPING UP WITH JONES (5:39 p.m.): Matt Jones attempted unsuccessfully to Monday qualify for the FBR Open and the Sony Open in Hawaii.
So the young Aussie ended up making his 2009 PGA TOUR debut at the Buick Invitational -- and he certainly made it count when he fired a 64 Sunday that vaulted him from a tie for 36th into the top 10.
Jones, who is non-exempt on TOUR after finishing 135th on the money list last year, made 10 birdies and two bogeys as he tied John Rollins for the low round of the tournament on Torrey Pines' South Course, which hosted last year's U.S. Open.
"On the PGA TOUR it's definitely probably my best round, especially considering the golf course we're playing," Jones said.
His ball-striking was spot-on Sunday as Jones hit all but two greens and used just 27 putts. Turns out, he was more concerned with watching one of his playing partners, than worrying about the leaders, which probably helped, too.
"I was playing with Davis watching how he hits a golf ball," Jones said. "... It's quite a nice ball flight to watch. So just watching him hit balls, and if the leaders were doing anything, I didn't really take any notice."
As a result of his top-10 finish, Jones now gains entry into the Northern Trust Open in two weeks.
"(That's) very, very big considering my category and having to play my way into tournaments, FedEx points, so it's very important," Jones said. "I couldn't be happier." -- Helen Ross
Here's a look at Jones' scorecard from today:
COSTLY DAY (5:26 p.m.): After making eight bogeys through the first three rounds, George McNeill has five bogeys and a double bogey today. That'll prove costly for the third-year player, who opened the day in a tie for ninth and was looking at his second top 10 of the season. -- Brian Wacker
DONALD TUMBLING DOWN LEADERBOARD (4:55 p.m.): Since birdieing two of his first three holes today to threaten the lead, Luke Donald has fallen back after two bogeys and an inexplicable double bogey on the 176-yard par-3 eighth, where he shanked his tee shot to the right, hiting it just 115 yards. From 80 yards away, he hit his next shot to 41 feet and three-putted from there.
Donald just bounced back from a bogey on No. 12 with a birdie on the par-5 13th, but at this point he's too far back to recover. -- Brian Wacker
MAHAN MOMENTUM (4:40 p.m.): Hunter Mahan is in with one of the best rounds of the day, a 6-under 66 that included four straight birdies on the final four holes (all of which could make things down the stretch among the leaders).
Mahan hadn't broken 70 here all week until today when he took just 26 putts after hitting 78 percent of his greens in regulation.
As a result, he's jumped from T45 into the top 10 (currently T9) for what looks like his best finish since a tie for eighth at last year's BMW Championship. -- Brian Wacker
ROLLINS LOOKING SLIM (4:21 p.m.): John Rollins is down about 30 pounds from two years ago thanks to what his trainer Joey Diovisalvi calls "a major, major, major commitment" to get his body where he wanted it to be.
Maybe it's not a coincidence he's leading, either -- despite a sore shoulder that he's been getting treatment for all week. Another of Diovisalvi's guys is Pat Perez, who started working with Diovisalvi about the same time Rollins did and was a winner at last week's FBR Open. You can read more about them tomorrow in Monday Backspin, but when Rollins made his 2008 season debut Diovisalvi said he hardly recognized him. -- Brian Wacker
FROM THE INBOX (4:05 p.m.): Among the questions in the inbox today are inquiries from reader "Ace" Brown about when Jim Furyk will be back (and if he's hurt) and from R.E. Santee on when Vijay Singh will be back after having knee surgery.
The answer to both is the same: Next week at Pebble Beach. Furyk isn't hurt, however. He's just taking a different approach this year, choosing to play in fewer tournaments and start his season a little later than normal after playing in 26 events last season. Plus, he's a big Steelers fan and a season-ticket holder, so he had to carve out some time to attend the AFC Championship game and Super Bowl.
Singh, meanwhile, has been out with the knee injury since the Mercedes-Benz Championship, where he fnished T27. -- Brian Wacker
ROLLINS STEADIES HIMSELF (3:50 p.m.): Now that John Rollins has steadied himself with five pars and a birdie after opening with a couple of bogeys, here's a closer look at Rollins' approach shots this week. He's been especially good in the 125-150 yard range and, prior to today, when he's missed the green in regulation he's salvaged par or better 12 times, which is first in the field. -- Brian Wacker
| Rollins approach shot breakdown vs. the field | ||||||||||||||||
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GOYDOS ON THE GREEN (3:30 p.m.): Paul Goydos has fallen back today after playing his first eight holes in 2 over to drop back to 4 under for the week, but here's an interesting stat on "Sunshine" courtesy of ShotLink:
In 2008, Goydos was the only player on the PGA TOUR not to miss a putt of 3 feet or less (706 of 706) on courses where ShotLink data was recorded. His last missed putt of 3 feet or less was in the first round of the 2007 Deutsche Bank Championship on the second hole, where he missed from 2 feet, 8 inches. Since then, Goydos has gone a perfect 775 for 775 from this distance (including his two-plus rounds on the South Course this week). -- Brian Wacker
GLOVER STAYING CLOSE, FOR NOW (3:08 p.m.): Lucas Glover, still looking for his first win since his maiden victory at the 2005 FUNAI Classic at Walt Disey World, just birdied the par-5 sixth to get his round back to 2 under for the day. He's three back, along with Nick Watney and Luke Donald.
But it might take more than the bad weather Glover was hoping for in order to win this week. In two final rounds this year, Glover shot 68 and 69. A 67 at the Buick Open was his best final round of 2008 when he ranked 91st in final-round scoring average at 71.21. Not since 2006 has he ranked in the top 50 on the PGA TOUR in final-round scoring average and at closer glance, it's clear his best golf has been played on Thursday and Friday throughout his career. -- Brian Wacker
| Year-by-year scoring averages for Lucas Glover | ||||||||||||||||
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MICKELSON CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE (2:55 p.m.): Phil Mickelson's woes are continuing today. He bogeyed four of five holes at one point on the front nine and clearly continues to have issues with his driver and his putter.
Mickelson is 2 under on the par 5s on the South Course this week, but even par for all the par 5s in the tournament. He's yet to shoot a round in the 60s this year and this week has hit 46 percent of his fairways. On Friday, he missed eight putts from 6 feet and in.
Lefty said his swing and his game are close -- a few feet here, a few feet there on some shots -- but it looks like he'll be spending a lot of time on the range and the practice green. -- Brian Wacker
GOING LOW (2:41 p.m.): Aussie Matt Jones has charged up the leaderboard, moving from T36 to T7 thanks to a back-nine 31 on Torrey Pines' South Course.
Jones, who has conditional status on the PGA TOUR after finishing 135th on the 2008 money list, has a career-best finish of T4 at the Honda Classic and the Buick Open, both last year. -- Brian Wacker
Here's a look at Jones' scorecard:
DONALD AT FULL STRENGTH (2:15 p.m.): Luke Donald said he's fully recovered from wrist surgery and it's showing. Donald birdied two of his first three holes today and is suddenly just two strokes back. The two-time PGA TOUR winner also has a strong record here with a pair of runner-up finishes, a T7 and two other top 25s in five career starts.
Donald has very quietly had a nice week so far. He's second in putts per round and tied for 13th in birdies and unlike the much-longer hitting Phil Mickelson, he's played the par 5s in 5 under this week. -- Brian Wacker
VILLEGAS TRYING TO APPLY PRESSURE (1:52 p.m.): Camilo Villegas might've just missed his birdie putt on the first hole, but he caught a break when John Rollins rolled in a bogey.
Villegas has struggled all week off the tee, having hit just 40 percent of his fairways here, but the 27-year-old Colombian has been able to stay in the hunt thanks to his approach shots.
Villegas ranks third in the field for greens hit this week and is second on approach shots from outside 200 yards. His 33 feet, 6 inch average is about 21 feet closer than the field average from that distance.
If he can continue that today, it'll be interesting to see how Rollins handles it. Villegas probably isn't going to keep missing birdie opportunities the way he did on the first hole when he hit it to 16 feet. -- Brian Wacker
LEADERS ON THE COURSE (1:35 p.m.): John Rollins and Camilo Villegas have teed off and are on the course. This is the fourth time in Rollins' nine years on the PGA TOUR that he's had the lead or shared the lead going into the final round, though both of his wins came when he was trailing going into Sunday.
His best finish while in this position? A runner-up at the 2003 Buick Classic.
One thing to keep an eye on as Rollins tries to hold onto the lead under the pressure of having a bullseye on his back: While he ranks 19th in driving accuracy for the week, he's only hit one tee shot into the left rough on the South Course all week. Usually when guys are feeling the pressure, they tend to overcook their tee balls. Now for some other stats on Rollins ... -- Brian Wacker
| Rollins - This Week vs. The Field | |||||||||||||||||||||
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PRE-ROUND WARM-UP (11:45 a.m. ): FedExCup fast facts
• There are six players who can potentially move into first with a victory at this week's Buick Invitational.
• Two players could move into first with a solo-second finish.
• Only Pat Perez could move into first with a solo third.
• Charley Hoffman is the only player entering the final round in the top 10 who could move into first with a win. -- Mike Vitti
LET'S LOOK AT THE LEADERS (11 a.m.): John Rollins is 147th in FedExCup standings with just one point.
• After finishing the inaugural 2007 FedExCup with four top 10s and a final ranking of 26th, Rollins had a slow 2008, only making it to 96th in the standings.
• Converting 12 of his 14 scrambling attempts, Rollins leads the field in scrambling.
Camilo Villegas is 66th in FedExCup standings with 61points.
• Villegas had only posted two rounds under par in his first six played this season entering this event.
• Through three rounds, Villegas is tied for third in greens in regulation and is tied for 14th in putts per round.
Nick Watney is 37th in FedExCup standings with 101 points.
• Through three rounds, Watney has successfully saved par on 18 of his 22 scrambling attempts.
• Watney could move into the top five of the FedExCup standings with a victory.
Luke Donald is 46th in FedExCup Rank standings with 87 points.
• Through three rounds, Donald ranks second in the field in total putting.
• Finishing 31st, Donald was the last man out of Atlanta in the 2007 FedExCup.
Paul Goydos is not ranked in FedExCup standings with no points earned yet this season.
• Goydos earned about 78 percent of his regular season points at two events in 2008.
• Through the first three rounds, Goydos is tied for fifth in driving accuracy and tied for fourth in putts per round.
Charles Warren is not ranked in FedExCup standings with no points earned yet this season.
• Warren is making his first start of the 2009 season.
• Warren only had one top 10 during the 2008 FedExCup season and finished 133rd in the standings. -- Mike Vitti
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