Buick Invitational: Final-round notebook

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SAN DIEGO -- Nick Watney posted a 4-under 68 on Sunday -- including birdies on three of his last six holes -- to capture the 2009 Buick Invitational by one stroke over 54-hole leader John Rollins (74). Lucas Glover (68) and Camilo Villegas (72) finished two back. The victory is the second of Watney's career (2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans) and comes in his 125th start on the PGA TOUR.

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Camilo Villegas tied for third after a final-round 72.

Inside the Numbers

Final Leaderboard

Player Score 1. Nick Watney 277 -11 2. John Rollins 278 -10 T3. Lucas Glover 279 -9 T3. Camilo Villegas 279 -9 5. Matt Jones 281 -7 6. Mathew Goggin 282 -6 T7. Bubba Watson 283 -5 T7. Ben Crane 283 -5 T7. Charley Hoffman 283 -5 T7. Luke Donald 283 -5

• Watney, a 27-year-old native of Sacramento, Calif., becomes the first player in his 20s to win on TOUR this season.

• The Buick Invitational has not produced a first-time winner since Jay Don Blake captured the title in 1991.

• The victory for Watney is worth 500 points and moves him to No. 2 in the FedExCup standings with 601 points, 46 behind leader Zach Johnson (647). The win comes in his fifth start at the Buick Invitational and is his second top-10 finish here (win in 2009, tie for ninth in 2007).

• Watney collects $954,000 with the victory, moving to No. 4 on the official money list, with $1,108,093. He is the fourth player this season to surpass $1 million in earnings. He also moves to No. 157 on the career money list, surpassing 158th-ranked Jack Nicklaus.

• The previous 13 winners of the Buick Invitational have major championship victories on their resume, and Watney is hoping to add his name to that list. The last player to win the Buick Invitational who did not already own or did not go on to win a major title was Peter Jacobsen in 1995.

• The win by Watney is the 240th on TOUR by a former Nationwide Tour winner and the third of the season (Johnson, Pat Perez).

• Watney earned his second career PGA TOUR victory in his 125th event at the age of 27 years, 9 months and 14 days. He also won the 2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

• His win came in his fifth start at the Buick Invitational. He now has two top-10s and three cuts made at the Buick Invitational. His previous best finish was a tie for ninth in 2007, and he is one of just three out of the last 13 Buick Invitational winners who did not hail from Southern California, joining Jose Maria Olazabal from Spain in 2002 and John Daly from Arkansas in 2004.

• Rollins has now entered the final round with at least a share of the 54-hole lead four times (2003 Buick Classic, 2003 FUNAI Classic-Disney, 2005 Deutsche Bank Championship, 2009 Buick Invitational), but has failed to win in those events. His two victories were in come-from-behind fashion, including a seven-stroke comeback at the 2002 Bell Canadian Open and a three-shot comeback at the 2006 B.C. Open.

• In 72-hole events, Rollins is the first 54-hole leader this season who has failed to carry that lead on to the winner's circle.

• In the 54 years that this tournament has gone the full 72 holes, the third-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win 26 times, including most recently Tiger Woods in 2008.

• The runner-up finish is the sixth of Rollins' career (2009 Buick Invitational, 2008 Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, 2007 FBR Open, 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, 2005 B.C. Open, 2003 Buick Classic).

• Dating back to the 2008 PGA Championship, Camilo Villegas has now finished inside the top 5 in five out of his last eight starts on TOUR.

• Australian Matt Jones, making his first start of the year, tallied 10 birdies on his way to Sunday's round of the day with an 8-under 64 (equaling the best round of the week on the South Course -- Rollins/Round 2). His stellar play was good for solo fifth place. It was just shy of his career-best round (63, 2008 Buick Open/2) and career-best finish (tie for fourth-2008 Honda Classic and Buick Open). His top-10 finish is good for entry into the Northern Trust Open in two weeks.

• Two-time Buick Invitational runner-up Luke Donald has never failed to finish in the top 25 in six career starts here (tie for seventh in 2009, tie for 24th in 2006, tie for second in 2005, tie for second in 2004, tie for seventh in 2003, the for 18th in 2002).

• 2008 PGA TOUR Player of the Year Padraig Harrington and Retief Goosen both made their season debut and Buick Invitational debut this week with tiee for 24th- and the for 26th-place finishes, respectively.

• Three-time Buick Invitational winner Phil Mickelson finished tied for 42nd this week in his 20th start at the tournament. His 2-over-par 290 total represents the first time he has finished above par in 16 made cuts here. He was joined in the field this week by fellow past champions Davis Love III (tied for 35th) and Bob Tway (missed cut). Tway, who made his 24th start at the tournament, will be eligible to join the Champions Tour later this year when he turns 50 on May 4.

• For the eighth consecutive year, the Buick Invitational failed to have a player record all four rounds in the 60s. Dating back to the 1997 tournament (13 tournaments), only six players have performed the feat, with two coming in 1999 (Billy Ray Brown and Bill Glasson) and four in 2001 (Frank Lickliter II, Mike Weir, Jay Don Blake and Shigeki Maruyama).

• The Driving Distance leader for the week was Robert Garrigus with an average of 309.9 yards, while the Driving Accuracy leader was Dean Wilson, who hit 41 of 56 (73.21%) fairways. Bill Haas lead in Greens in Regulation with 58 of 72 (80.56%), while Aaron Baddeley led in Putts per Round with an average of 26.50 putts per round.

• The final-round scoring average on the South Course was 72.366, bringing the cumulative average for the week to 74.010. It represents just the second time since 1983 that the overall average has exceeded 74.00, with the highest average coming in 1993 (74.179). The South Course did not yield a bogey-free round during the final round.

• The par-4 seventh hole played the toughest this week on the South Course, yielding a 4.402 average, while the par-5 sixth hole was the easiest at 4.527.

• Of the 25 graduates from the 2008 Nationwide Tour who teed it up this week, PGA TOUR rookie Jeff Klauk had the best showing with a tie for 11th. It was a career-best effort for Klauk (topping his tie for 12th earlier this year at the Sony Open in Hawaii). Klauk has posted sub-par rounds 13 times in 17 attempts this season.

• The season-long Kodak Challenge, where players must play at least 18 of the 30 Kodak Challenge holes throughout the season to be eligible for a $1 million prize, includes this week's 435-yard, par-4 14th hole at Torrey Pines South Course. Through the first four events of the Challenge, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Beckman, Jarrod Lyle and Zach Johnson share the lead at 3-under.

• The PGA TOUR heads north this week for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, with Steve Lowery set to defend his title from a year ago.