In case you were too busy searching for pictures of Tiger Woods new son, Charlie — cool name, huh? — all afternoon, let me serve reminder to Nick Watney's second career Tour victory at the Buick Invitational Sunday.Chasing John Rollins and Lucas Glover, Watney birdied two of his last three holes and took the Buick with a clutch three-footer on No. 18.
Needless to say, the putt didn't have the drama of Woods' victory at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, but it was significant, nonetheless.
Watney became the fifth different winner in five events on Tour this season and took home a $954,000 paycheck — maybe one of the big ones, like in Happy Gilmore — and also outran Camilo "The Painter" Villegas down the stretch.
He is also making his name as one of the top American players under the age of 30 early in 2009, which is always refreshing with so many international players dominating on the PGA Tour.
Along with Woods' baby news, one of the bigger byproducts of the weekend is the mainstream media's interest in Phil Mickelson's struggles.
ESPN.com's Bob Harig says Mickelson hasn't taken advantage of Tiger's absence enough, missing fairways and even cuts early this season on the West Coast. PGA Tour columnist T.J. Auclair says Mickelson's struggles are glaring, and agrees that Mickelson is failing to meet expectations as the best player in the world not named Tiger.
Back with Hitting the Links, Part III, on Wednesday and some predictions for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this weekend.
1 comments:
Watney really showed some maturity down the stretch at the Buick. That birdie putt on 16 (the 40 footer), was a remarkable read and gave him the momentum he needed for a strong finish. Also, his second shot on the par-5 18th hole was another excellent shot from 230+ yards away, and gave himself the opportunity to two-putt for the win. John Rollins seemed to caught it up too, other than his eagle on 13, he was not putting himself in a position to get the W. Things will be heating up now, as the Masters edges closer....
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