Nick Watney wins AT&T National

Nick Watney of the USA collected his fourth PGA Tour title by winning the AT&T National at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania by two strokes from South Korea's K.J. Choi.

Nick Watney
Fergus Bisset
By
published

Nick Watney of the USA collected his fourth PGA Tour title by winning the AT&T National at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania by two strokes from South Korea's K.J. Choi.

Watney played two phenomenal rounds over the weekend at Aronimink to take the victory. He followed a stellar 62 on Saturday with a highly controlled and composed 66 on Sunday.

"To be able to hit good shots and putts is why I play, really," said Watney. "I'm overjoyed to be here as the winner."

At the start of the final day it looked as though Rickie Fowler might be Watney's principal competition, but the young Californian quickly played himself out of the running with a double bogey at the second hole. As Watney made a birdie on the same hole, there was a three shot swing and Fowler never got back into contention. He finished with a 74 and ended the week in a tie for 13th.

"I just couldn't get anything going today," he said.

As it turned out, Korea's K.J. Choi was Watney's nearest challenger. The Players Championship winner tied Watney for the lead with birdies on the 11th, 12th and 14th holes. But the American pulled clear again with a solid par at the difficult par-4 15th then a birdie at the par-5 16th. He parred the final two holes to secure the victory, a cheque for $1,116,000 and to move into the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

Charles Howell III played an excellent final round of 66 to move into a tie for third with Jeff Overton and Adam Scott. There was further good news for Howell - his performance earned him a spot in the Open Championship in two weeks time.

AT&T National Aronimink Golf Club, Pennsylvania Jun 30 - Jul 4, purse $6,200,000, par 70

1   Nick Watney (USA)   70   69   62   66   267   $1,116,000 2   K.J. Choi (Kor)      69   64   69   67   269   $669,600 T3   Charles Howell III (USA) 68   68   69   66   271   $332,400 T3   Jeff Overton (USA)   71   65   68   67   271   $332,400 T3   Adam Scott (Aus)      66   71   66   68   271   $332,400 T6   Robert Allenby (Aus)   71   68   68   65   272   $215,450 T6   Chris Stroud (USA)   70   68   66   68   272   $215,450 T8   Chris Kirk (USA)      70   71   63   69   273   $179,800 T8   Bryce Molder (USA)   69   67   68   69   273   $179,800 T8   Webb Simpson (USA)   69   70   64   70   273   $179,800

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage only Where next? European Tour: Thomas Levet wins French Open

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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