So where has Nick Watney been all these years on the PGA Tour?
Nick Watney is in the final pairing Sunday at the Wells Fargo Championship, but where has been in recent years?
The appearance by Tiger Woods, as expected, has been the overriding story at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship. But Nick Watney has resurfaced in contention, with rounds of -4 (67) and -5 (66) on Friday and Saturday to push himself to -8 and into the Sunday’s final group with Jason Day.
Watney’s last PGA Tour win came back in 2012 at The Barclay’s-125 starts ago for him. In July of the previous year, spurred by winning the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March, he became a top-10 golfer in the World Golf Ranking. He made the cut in his 11th straight event this week, as he attempts to climb from his spot entering the week as the world’s 261st-ranked golfer.
But you may be wondering, as I did, where has Watney been over the last few years on the PGA Tour?
Watney’s last tournament win overall came later in 2012, at the CIMB Classic on the Asian Tour. He maintained a top-30 ranking in the world in 2013, but with more missed cuts (18) than top-10 finishes (5) over the following two seasons, Watney fell into the 120s in the world.
Watney only played four tour events in 2016, before a herniated disc in his back sidelined him for the rest of that season. That absence helped drop his world ranking to No. 465, with only a minor rebound during the 2017 season (No. 397) as he missed 10 cuts in 23 events played. His last top-10 finish came in 2015 at the Byron Nelson.
Watney led the Wells Fargo Championship field by hitting 44 of 54 greens in regulation through three rounds (81.5 percent). That has helped him overcome average to below-par marks in driving distance and accuracy, and he only needed 28 putts to post his 66 on Saturday.
Watney has people rooting for him on Twitter.
Would love to see Nick Watney get it done today. Davis & Fresno State legend has had a tough couple years. Today would be big
— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) May 6, 2018
Love seeing my man Nick Watney playing well again. It’s been a long road back. Good luck in today’s final round #nickwatney
— N Rodriguez (@OAKLEY1242) May 6, 2018
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Through nine holes of his Sunday round, as of this writing, Watney has been surpassed by Aaron Wise at -9 and two other golfers have moved to -8 as well, three shots behind Day. But Watney is back healthy and playing pretty good golf, so even if he doesn’t leave Quail Hollow with a trophy that can go down as a nice win.