Nick Watney scored the biggest win of his career with a two-shot victory in the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami.
American shoots 67 to capture first WGC victory
Nick Watney scored the biggest win of his career with a two-shot victory in the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami.
Two shots behind leader Dustin Johnson at the start of play, Watney holed some clutch putts down the stretch at the Blue Monster Course in Florida to post a five-under 67 and capture his third US Tour title and first WGC win.
Watney sealed the deal with a superb birdie at the tough 18th.
Just one clear of Johnson at that point, the Californian hit a 315-yard drive to the right hand side of the fairway before hitting his approach from 165 yards to just 12 feet.
Then, with Johnson watching back down the fairway after he too had avoided the water down the left at 18, Watney calmly rolled his birdie putt into the heart of the hole to post 16-under.
Johnson still could have tied had he holed his second shot from 152 yards but despite staring after his ball as it sailed towards the hole, the miracle didn't happen and it landed nine feet away.
With his chance gone, it was no surprise to see him miss the birdie putt and that meant Johnson's 71 left him two behind winner Watney.
European duo Anders Hansen and Francesco Molinari shot 68 and 70 respectively to finish tied third on 13-under while American Matt Kuchar was a further shot back on 12-under.
Watney made his move with three successive birdies from the eighth and came back from a bogey at the next with a pitch to four feet at the long 12th.
Just as important were par-saving efforts from 17 feet on the 13th and 24 feet at the 15th - and then, one ahead thanks to Johnson bogeying the 16th, came his dream finish.
Watney, who was three in front with a round to go at the PGA Championship last August before falling away with an 81, can now look forward to The Masters with even more relish.
The 29-year-old hasn't finished outside of the top 10 so far this season and has posted finishes of 11th, 19th and 7th (last year) on his three starts at Augusta National.
Watney so nearly forced a play-off with Phil Mickelson here at Doral two years ago - his final putt finishing an inch away from the hole - and relating back to that in his winner's speech he said: "I definitely felt like I had something for this course and I think I've settled the score.
"Luckily today I was able to do just a little better."
Tiger boost
Tiger Woods gave a boost to his Masters preparations by moving up from 30th to tied 10th after a joint best-of-the-day six-under 66.
Woods turned in 34, then birdied the 11th, 12th, 16th and 17th, where his approach ran over the edge of the hole to three feet.
A smiling Woods said later: "It's progressing. I'm still building, still putting the pieces together, which is nice.
"I hit a lot of good shots and when I did miss it I knew how to fix it."
However Woods has now gone 19 events and 16 months without a victory.
Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson's winless streak is up to 22 events stretching back to last April's Masters after a miserable closing 76 left him four over and in a tie for 55th in the 66 man field.
The left-hander hit just four greens in regulation and could easily have shot 80.
A pair of 74s on the weekend, rounded off by a double bogey on 18, made it a disappointing finish to the tournament for Martin Kaymer.
The German would have kept his position at the top of the world rankings whatever happened this week but he would have been looking for something better than tied 24th after opening with a 66.
World number two Lee Westwood made four birdies in his opening eight holes but couldn't make further progress and a 68 left him tied 18th.
Rory McIlroy's hopes of a title bid were undone by a 74 which left him tied 10th alongside Woods.
The Ulsterman was joint second when he opened with a birdie, but found bunker after bunker on the following holes and showed his frustration by throwing a club ahead of him on the ninth tee.
It was a similar story of what might have been for Luke Donald.
Donald, who could have gone to world number two with victory, was in the last group with Johnson and even after a trip to the water on the third was only one behind when he turned in 34.
But he then bogeyed the 11th and 13th and with a 72 ended up in a tie for sixth alongside Aussie Adam Scott.
