Nick Watney Wins CIMB Classic

Nick Watney (pictured) bogeyed the last hole but his final round was still good enough to win him the CIMB Classic. Watney’s 10 under par round of 61 gave him a one shot win over Robert Garrigus and Bo Van Pelt.

However, this non-official tournament in Malaysia was one that Tiger Woods may feel he should of have won. He was two shots off the pace towards the end of his third round and five dropped shots, admittedly offset by two birdies, eventually cost Woods the tournament.

The former world number one can take some satisfaction from a final round 63 which contained eight birdies and no bogeys. He may well appear in several other non-regular events before the end of the year but his focus will now be turned towards the US Masters next April.

Woods played himself into contention in each of the four majors this year but performed moderately over the weekend on each occasion. Despite winning three regular tournaments on the US Tour and climbing up to number two in the world rankings his career is defined by majors and his aim to overtake Jack Nicklaus’s hall of 18 Grand Slam victories.

Watney will be pleased with his season. He won the first FedEx Cup play-off event and has now recorded his first overseas win. Watney was overlooked by Davis Love as a wildcard pick for the Ryder Cup which in retrospect looks like a bad call.

Love opted for experience in the form of Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk. It is debatable whether Watney would have holed the crucial putts that those two players missed. It is very probable that he would have a more significant contribution which could have been key to the outcome of the matches.

On the European Tour Peter Hanson from Sweden won the BMW Masters by one shot from Rory McIlroy. His lead was three with the same number of holes to play but his only bogey of the day on the last hole did not cost him his sixth win in Europe.

Hanson was one of eleven players from the European Ryder Cup team in the field. He was disappointed with his contribution to the team cause in the match against the States. However, he will gain great confidence from beating so many of his teammates and holding his nerve to close out this tournament.