Nick Watney surges into first round lead of Players Championship with a 64
Nick Watney marvelled the crowd by smashing the course lowest of 64 in the first round of the $9.5 million Players Championship, which is taking place at the par-72 Tournament Player Club, Sawgrass.
The American surged into the lead by teeing off from the back and reeling three back-to-back birdies in the opening holes to set the pace. The Cadillac Championship winner caught the first bogey of the tournament on the par-4 14th, when he drove
his tee shot into the lie on the left side of the fairway.
In an urge to take the ball out of the thick grass, the player wedged the ball and forced it onto the far right side of the second fairway, which had thick bushes. The player two-putted for a double-bogey on the green and gave away the edge he earned via
the early birdies.
Countering the loss with a birdie on an immediate hole, Watney sealed the back nine with a score of 1-under par and proceeded towards the front to test his luck.
For the ones, who saw him rolling birdies, they actually saw lady luck riding by his side. The Californian aced the second hole on the front from 25-feet and rolled two more birdies to rocket into the lead, while others struggled to break par.
With a gap of one green, the player fired another set of twin birdies that sent the crowd into a loud applause. Excited at the cheers, Watney drove his tee shot into a sand bunker on the left of the par-3 eight, which resulted in a bogey. The American birdied
the last green and marched towards the clubhouse with a score of 8-under par 64.
Apart from leading the leader board, the player led the putting stats and finished third in Green Hits in Regulation.
When asked the secret behind his edgy game, he replied, “I think whenever I've shot a low round like that, you always make a few 15-or-20-footers that you don't make every day. The putter is just a great way to keep momentum if you happen to hit a loose
shot or gain it with the birdie putts”.
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