Nick Watney | |
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Personal information | |
Full name | Nicholas Alan Watney |
Born | Sacramento, California |
April 25, 1981
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 13 st) |
Nationality | ![]() |
Residence | Henderson, Nevada[1] |
Career | |
College | Fresno State University |
Turned professional | 2003 |
Current tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Former tour(s) | Canadian Tour Nationwide Tour |
Professional wins | 7 |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 4 |
Nationwide Tour | 1 |
Other | 2 |
Best results in Major Championships |
|
Masters Tournament | 7th: 2010 |
U.S. Open | T60: 2008 |
The Open Championship | T7: 2010 |
PGA Championship | T12: 2011 |
Nicholas Alan Watney (born April 25, 1981) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. The highlight of Watney's career to date is his victory at the 2011 WGC-Cadillac Championship.
In July 2011, Watney broke into the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time in his career, after his victory at the AT&T National, placing him tenth in the world.[2]
Contents |
Watney was born in Sacramento, California. He played his high school golf at Davis Senior High School in Davis, California. He played collegiate golf under his uncle Mike Watney at Fresno State University, where he was a three-time All-America golfer.[3] . Although Nick is related to Mike, Mike did not offer Nick a scholarship to Fresno State. Instead Nick had to walk on to the team. He turned professional in 2003, following in the footsteps of his uncle, Mike Watney, who played on the PGA Tour in the 1970s.[4]
In 2003, Watney's first professional victory came at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial on the Canadian Tour. The next year he played on the Nationwide Tour, and after winning the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship, Watney earned qualification for the PGA Tour.
In 2007, after two years of slow progress, Watney won his first PGA Tour title at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. This victory took Watney into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time. He got his second tour win at the 2009 Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, with a one-stroke victory over John Rollins, taking him to his highest position yet in the World Golf Rankings, number 76.
In the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Watney had a three-shot lead going into the final round. However, he shot a final round of 81, which dropped him back to a tie for 18th place.[5]
Watney won the biggest tournament of his career to date and his first World Golf Championship at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in March 2011. He entered the final round trailing by two strokes, but shot a final round 67, including a run of four birdies in five holes in the middle of the round, and finished with a birdie at the notoriously difficult 18th, to record a two-stroke victory over compatriot Dustin Johnson.[6] Watney admitted in an interview afterwards that he had dwelt on finishing 2nd at Doral, in the same tournament two years before, when his putt on the 18th finished a couple of inches short of the hole.[7] After the victory, Watney moved up to number 15 in the World Golf Rankings.[8]
In July, Watney won for the second time in 2011 at the AT&T National by beating K. J. Choi by two strokes. The victory owed much to his third-round score when he set a course record 62 around Aronimink Golf Club, beating the previous record set coincidently on the same day, which Chris Kirk and Steve Marino held briefly with joint 63s. Watney shot a 27 on the back nine, which tied the second lowest nine-hole score ever recorded on the PGA Tour. The record is held by Corey Pavin who shot 26 at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee in 2006. During the final round Watney did not record a single bogey, making a number of crucial par saving putts to hold off the challenge of Choi and capture his fourth PGA Tour title.[9] This win took Watney to the top of the FedEx Cup standings, ahead of Choi, and into the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time in his career. He finished the 2011 season ranked third on the PGA Tour money list.
During the 2011 President's Cup, he defeated K.J. Choi on the final day to give the United States team a distinct advantage over the International Team coached by Greg Norman. The four-day match play tournament was played in Melbourne, Australia.
Watney's win over Choi was significant toward America's Team victory and personally Nick decidedly defeated (3 and 2) a golfer who had a terrific year on tour and in the 2011 major tournaments. This is an indication of how Watney's game has already improved to match the very best golfers on earth.
Watney's cousin is journalist Heidi Watney.
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No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
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1 | Apr 22, 2007 | Zurich Classic of New Orleans | -15 (69–67–68–69=273) | 3 strokes | ![]() |
2 | Feb 8, 2009 | Buick Invitational | -11 (69–69–71–68=277) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
3 | Mar 13, 2011 | WGC-Cadillac Championship | -16 (67–70–68–67=272) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
4 | Jul 3, 2011 | AT&T National | -13 (70–69–62–66=267) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Oct 31, 2004 | Nationwide Tour Championship | -15 (69–64–71–69=273) | 3 strokes | ![]() |
Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Masters | DNP | T11 | 19 | 7 | 46 | T32 |
U.S. Open | CUT | T60 | CUT | 76 | CUT | |
The Open Championship | T35 | DNP | T27 | T7 | CUT | |
PGA Championship | CUT | DNP | CUT | T18 | T12 |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Year | Championship | 54 Holes | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runner-up |
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2011 | WGC-Cadillac Championship | 2 shot deficit | -16 (67–70–68–67=272) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
Tournament | 2007 | 2008 |
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Accenture Match Play Championship | DNP | DNP |
Cadillac Championship | DNP | DNP |
Bridgestone Invitational | T61 | DNP |
Tournament | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Accenture Match Play Championship | DNP | R16 | R16 | R16 |
Cadillac Championship | 2 | T26 | 1 | T17 |
Bridgestone Invitational | T36 | T16 | T23 | |
HSBC Champions | 5 | T21 | T33 |
Professional
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Never too soon to be through
Being cool too much too soon
Too much for me too much for you
You're gonna loose in time
Every turn looking to burn
Some never learn live and learn
Stop your searching for a curse
Before you end up in a hearse
Don't be afraid to show your friends
That you hurt inside inside
Pain's part of life don't hide behind your false pride
It's a lie your lie
Don't slip away and don't forget
I'll give you more than you can get
It's so lonely when you don't even know
Yourself come to me
If you see me getting mighty
If you see me getting high
Knock me down
I'm not bigger than life
I'm tired of being untouchable
I'm not above the love
I'm part of you and you're part of me
Why did you go away
Too late to tell you how i feel
I want you back but i get real
Can you hear my falling tears
Making rain where you lay
Finding what you're looking for
Can end up being such a bore
I pray for you most every day
My love's with you now fly away
If you see me getting mighty
If you see me getting high
Knock me down
I'm not bigger than life
It's so lonely when you don't even know yourself