Sports

Wat a way to do it!

March 16 - 22, 2011
281 views

Two shots behind leader Dustin Johnson at the start of play, Nick Watney holed some clutch putts down the stretch to tame the Blue Monster Course in Florida and score the biggest win of his career at the WGC Cadillac Championship in Miami.

A five-under 67 proved enough for a two shot victory, his third US Tour title and first WGC win.

Watney, who was three in front with a round to go at the PGA Championship last August before falling away with an 81, can now look forward to The Masters with even more relish.

The 29-year-old hasn't finished outside of the top 10 so far this season and has posted finishes of 11th, 19th and 7th (last year) on his three starts at Augusta National.

Tiger Woods gave a boost to his Masters preparations by moving up from 30th to tied 10th after a joint best-of-the-day six-under 66 on Sunday. Woods turned in 34, then birdied the 11th, 12th, 16th and 17th, where his approach ran over the edge of the hole to three feet.

Woods seemed to get better with each round, as he gradually pieces together his new swing slowly but surely. However, Woods has now gone 19 events and 16 months without a victory and time is running out to find the four rounds he needs if he is to win at Augusta next month.

Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson's winless streak is up to 22 events stretching back to last April's Masters after a miserable closing 76 left him four over and in a tie for 55th in the 66-man field. Mickelson, like Woods, has been in World Ranking freefall over the past year and it may take the inspirational surroundings of the Masters to ignite the spark in America's most popular golfer.

This week the European Tour engines burst back in to life and the next stop is the beautiful surroundings of Sicily for the first time.

Italy's most successful golfer, Costantino Rocca, believes this week's Sicilian Open will help his country build on a hugely successful 2010 campaign and help nurture new talent.

Last season saw the Molinari brothers, Edoardo and Francesco, emulate the 54-year-old as Ryder Cup players, while teenager Matteo Manassero recorded his first European Tour victory.

Italy is rapidly emerging as a golfing force to be reckoned with. Now, with this new event to compliment the already established Italian Open, the Sicilian Open is an important part of Italy's continuing golfing development

Rocca, who now plies his trade on the European Senior Tour, is making a rare return to European Tour action to support the inaugural tournament, which is the first event of the 2011 schedule to be played on European soil.

Rocca will be joined in the field for the event by Colin Montgomerie, one of his teammates from his three Ryder Cup appearances in 1993, 1995 and 1997.

With the likes of the Molinaris and Manassero championing the Italian cause around the globe, and the fact that you can play golf in Sicily 12 months of the year, the tournament will soon become a favourite, and who knows, Italy could soon become as famous for its golf as it is for its food ... well, maybe!







More on Sports