Nick Watney Wins Buick Invitational: Next Week, on to Pebble Beach

This week, we saw some outstanding play at Torrey Pines in the Buick Invitational. My A player has a chance to win one this week, but his putter may have stopped him.

John Rollins has a tester right now on 14 to keep a 3 shot lead intact.

Rollins bogeys that hole and has a two shot lead with 4 holes to play over Nick Watney, and Camilo Villegas. Lucas Glover is also at -9 playing solid golf today.

It's nervous time in La Jolla, this afternoon. The weather looks very nice, with a hint of a breeze and nice temperatures in San Diego.

The hang gliders cruise over the breaking waves as we will see who wins this one today.

Next week defending champion Steve Lowery tees it up at the ATT National Pro-Am in beautiful Pebble Beach, Calif.

My players in fantasy will be KJ Choi, David Toms, Charley Hoffman, and Matt Kuchar.

The bench will have Vijay Singh, Pat Perez, Davis Love III, and Jeff Maggert.

I did consider Vijay as a starter , but coming off wrist surgery, I will wait a couple tournaments to start him.

Back to the action now at the Buick Invitational.

Glover has an eight footer for par, and needs to make it to have a small chance in today's final round. He is playing on the 17th hole.

Rollins putts for birdie on 15 and just misses. He will stay at -11.

Villegas gets a par also and stays 2 back of Rollins.

They are coming to the long par-three 16th hole now.

Glover suffers an untimely bogey and drops three shots back going into 18. He will not win, today.

It's Rollins, followed by Watney and Villegas, down by two shots each.

A liitle breeze knocks Villegas's shot into the front bunker at 16. Watney swings and his ball hits at the back of the green and stops, as the wind picks up ever so slightly.

Rollins loses it to the left and game on. A very quick swing. No birdies for anyone on this hole, and Rollins just needs to hang on for a par.

My fantasy team had Villegas still in the hunt this week,Rod Pampling finishing at + 4, Davis Love III, at +1 and Charles Howell III at +2.

I benched Streelman after he missed the cut, and replaced him with Howell. So far, I have 599 points on yahoo fantasy and a chance for more with Villegas.

Watney just made a birdie on 16 with a 39-foot putt. Wow! He is one back now and Rollins may bogey this hole. That putt had breaks and downhill action and was just an E ticket ride.

Villegas is only one back as he makes par. Rollins makes bogey and Watney is tied for the lead, with Villegas only one behind.

Watney finds the fairway with a metal wood at 17 and now Villegas is up. He also hits a metal wood but pushes it right, into the rough.

Rollins is in the left rough, but the ball is on top, able to be seen. This is Nick Watney's tournament to win, all of a sudden. The 18th is reachable in two, and could be a huge swing hole today.

My A player still has a chance to pull it out also, as Villegas has plenty of power.

Lucas Glover finishes up with a birdie and posts -9 in the clubhouse.

Villegas misses the green at 17 and Watney hits from the fairway at 159 yards with a nine iron. He is on the green, but far away.

Rollins swings, from not a great lie, and his eight iron is about 30 feet from the hole.

Watney makes a nice lag from 50 feet and taps in for par. He is still at -10. Rollins hits his putt and also taps in for par. He is at -10 also. Villegas has a seven footer for par and he just misses right.

He is now two back, going into 18. He really needs an eagle, and that may not help him.

All three players are in the fairway and have a chance to hit the green in two.

Villegas is 247 away and will hit first. Villegas misses the water by a couple feet and has about 30 feet for eagle. Watney goes with a utilty metal wood and puts it about 50 feet away, but on the green.

Rollins hits his metal hybrid club into the sand, on the back downslope of the bunker. All Watney needs now is probably a two putt to win the tournamnet.

Watney has not had a three putt in 97 holes of tournament play. He has a three footer for birdie, as the eagle slides by to the left.

Villegas misses an eagle by a 1/4 inch and finishes at -9. Rollins misses his birdie and Watney wins the tournament with a short three foot putt for birdie.

Congratulations to Nick Watney, a California native, who just earned a trip to the Masters in April.

Thanks for reading this article, and make some putts.  Thomas "NFL Mikee" Moreland