Nick Watney went one better than his runner up place in 2009, by finishing two shots ahead of the rest of the field this weekend at the WGC Cadillac Championship in Florida. The American saw off the challenge of compatriot Dustin Johnson who had lead overnight, managing to birdie the 18th which saw Watney finish five-under 67 and 16-under for the tournament.
Despite surrendering his lead, Johnson managed to finish second on 14-under, with Anders Hansen and Francesco Molinari closely behind on 13-under. Recent Match-play champion Luke Donald went from tied second down to 11-under after a disappointing par-72 on the final day. Tiger Woods showed glimpses of his best form on the way to his eight-under, finishing a decent 10th.
Johnson had looked on course to lift the trophy after leading for the majority of weekend but the big-hitting American was chased down by Watney after the two went into the final few holes tied for the lead. Johnson's bogey on the 16th was the beginning of the end for him though and Watney made no mistake when handed the advantage. Anyone who had bet on golf would have been impressed by the way he closed it out.
The victory will have got rid of the demons this tournament holds for Watney after his dismal 2009 campaign, where he blew a three-shot lead on the final day, Phil Mickelson resigning the 29-year old to second place. Sacramento born Watney was delighted to taste success at Doral and admitted his relief at winning at the tournament after the pain of 2009.
"I'm not sure about it owing me one, but I felt I had something for this course and I think I settled the score. It worked out great and I couldn't ask for a better ending," he said.
With the Masters less than two weeks away, Watney will take plenty of confidence from his performance here and could be one of the dark horses at Augusta and the Masters betting 2011 reflects this.
Watney has a very decent record at the Masters, three top-20 finishes in his three appearances. The highlight in this tournament for Watney came last year, where a seventh place finish showed the rest of the field that he has the game to succeed on this course.
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