Golf:Nick Watney fought off a spirited back nine charge by KJ Choi to claim his second PGA Tour win of the season with a two-shot victory at the AT&T National last night. Watney managed only a single birdie on the back nine but did not drop a shot on the way to a four-under 66 for a 13-under total of 267 in steamy weather in the Philadelphia suburbs.
Choi trailed Watney and Rickie Fowler by one shot going into the final round and finally managed to catch Watney when he rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt at the 14th to leave both players on 12-under with four to play. But the South Korean stumbled with a double-bogey out of a bunker at the 15th while Watney parred the same hole to restore his two-shot cushion and go on to win his fourth PGA Tour title.
"With 27 holes to go, I was just trying to play my way back in the tournament," Watney said afterwards. "For some reason, the hole just got bigger for me. I'm overjoyed. KJ kept coming and coming. It makes it that much more rewarding. I'm very, very proud of the way I was able to finish."
Watney, winner of the World Golf Championship event at Doral in March, joins Mark Wilson as the Tour's only double winners this year. He has also posted eight top-10 finishes, more than anyone on the Tour, and the purse takes his season earnings over $4 million.
"He's found out he's a great player this year," said Adam Scott, who fired a closing 68 to tie for third, four shots back with Americans Jeff Overton (67) and Charles Howell III (66). "He's a tremendously hard worker and he's now reaping the rewards. He's one of the great players out there, no doubt about it."
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