Watney Rallies for Big Win at Buick

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Nick Watney (Classics Tour style #51458) began the day five shots off the lead but remained near the top of the leaderboard through 15 holes on Sunday. When the leaders stumbled coming down the stretch, he seized the moment by converting two huge birdies over the final three holes to rise up and win the Buick Invitational.

Watney, who wore FootJoy’s new SYNR-G style on Saturday, knocked in a 40-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-3 16th, then completed his five-shot rally with a two-putt birdie on the 18th hole to capture his first win since the 2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He closed with a 4-under 68 for an 11-under 277 total that also earned him a trip to the Masters.

Watney was five shots behind going into the final round and was an afterthought most of the day, never getting closer than two shots until the tournament swung in his favor on the 16th.

While the leader struggled to a bogey, Watney calmly stared down a 40-footer from just off the green that broke sharply to the left. His pace was perfect, the ball caught the left edge and dropped, and Watney widened his eyes and pumped his fist.

That gave him a tie for the lead, and after exchanging pars with the leader on the 17th, he came up with the shot that mattered on the 18th, finding the top shelf of the green and coaxing his long eagle putt a few feet away. When his competitor missed his chance to force a playoff, Watney calmly rolled in his birdie putt for the victory.