The Daily Wrap-up, Round 4: Buick Invitational
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- One of the lessons Nick Watney took from playing for his uncle at Fresno State was that winning is never easy. That's why he didn't lose hope Sunday in the Buick Invitational when he was three shots behind with five holes to play.
First came a mini-collapse by John Rollins, a combination of bad swings and bad breaks.
Then it was a 40-foot birdie putt across the 16th green by Watney, who remembered the severity of the slope at the back of the green from when he three-putted at the U.S. Open last summer at Torrey Pines.
Watney never took the lead until the final shot of the tournament, a 2-foot birdie putt to complete a five-shot comeback for his second career victory.
"If you're going to lead for one hole, this is the time to do it," he said.
Watney, who appeared to be along for the ride for most of the final round, birdied two of his last three holes and didn't drop a shot over the final 11 holes in closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-shot victory.
No shot was more important than his hybrid from 235 yards on the par-5 18th that easily cleared the pond and settled on the top shelf of the green. He calmly rolled his long eagle putt down the slope to just inside 3 feet, and knocked in the winning putt after Rollins failed to get up-and-down from the bunker.
Watney started to deliver a roundhouse fist pump, similar to when Tiger Woods made birdie on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open to force a playoff in June. But that wouldn't fit his understated personality.
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WATNEY NEVER AFRAID OF EARNING ANYTHING
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
SAN DIEGO -- Mike Watney never cut his nephew any slack.
Nick Watney wanted to play for his uncle at Fresno State since he first picked up a club as a 13-year-old growing up in Sacramento. His cousin, Josh, his surrogate older brother, was a Bulldog, too, and they would have one year together there.
When the time came, though, Nick Watney had to walk on. As close as the three were, family ties counted for nothing. What he could do with his clubs was all that mattered.
"That's one of the things that I really appreciate that (my uncle) did for me -- I had to earn everything," the younger Watney recalled. "I was never a coach's pick."
Watney took that same mindset into the final round of the Buick Invitational on Sunday. He trailed by five at the start, but led by one -- for the one and only time all week -- when he made a three-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole.
The 28-year-old earned the second victory of his PGA TOUR career by closing with a sterling 4-under 68. Watney played in the final group and made up three strokes on John Rollins over the last five holes, including the pivotal two-putt birdie at the 18th.
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| Sunday's Best |
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The par-5 13th on the South Course at Torrey Pines was the easiest with a Sunday scoring average of 4.324.
The par-4 fourth hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines was the toughest with a Sunday scoring average of 4.549.
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Jonathan Kaye holed out for eagle from 88 yards away on the final hole to put an exclamation point on his round. 
Nick Watney's 4-under 68 wasn't the lowest score of the day, but it was close. It also gave Watney his second career victory as he rallied from five back. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Bob Stevens offers these observations from Sunday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.com.
If you're looking for an inside-the-ropes hint that I knew Nick Watney was going to win on Sunday, keep looking. The only thing Nick did spectacularly was not get rattled by his own missed opportunities, or caught up in the bigger picture. He really did just play shot-to-shot. While his playing partners, John Rollins and Camilo Villegas, were getting themselves in and out of trouble all day, Watney only missed three greens and one of those he turned into the tying birdie at 16 from off the back fringe. He never led until the winning birdie putt, and maybe that's the best way to do it.
One of John Rollins' sponsors is Sandler Training, which made me wonder if Happy Gilmore was his swing coach. No, Rocket explained, it's a sales and management training company he's worked with for years. Unlike the actor Sandler, the golfer for Sandler couldn't quite script a happier ending this week.
Camilo Villegas certainly understands the big picture of golf and life. He was tormented today by at least a half-dozen lip-hanging putts that cost him the victory, yet talked about how much fun he had in the final round. He even took time to joke with gallery members while he was trying to move them out of the way so he could hit a critical chip at the 17th hole when victory was still within reach. Villegas will always have his heart-throb fans, but he also earned the respect and admiration of the older generation with his easy-going manner. He'll be a favorite in San Diego for years to come.
| What the top finishers said... | ||||||||||||||||||||
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FOURTH-ROUND NOTEBOOK: BUICK INVITATIONAL
By John Bush, PGA TOUR Staff
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.
• 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).
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