Sep. 17, 2009
The top 30 players in FedExCup points have advanced to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and now have a chance to win the FedExCup. Here's a detailed look at each player and how he made it to East Lake:
FINAL 30 PREVIEWS: Previous | Next | Archive | MORE FEDEXCUP: Points standings | How the reset works
| Season in review |
NICK WATNEY: 12th in FedExCup points (460 after reset)
Watney completed a five-shot comeback win at the Buick Invitational by making birdie on two of his last three holes and closing with a 4-under 68. The win was his second career victory, making Watney one of seven Americans under age 30 with multiple PGA TOUR victories (J.B. Holmes, D.J. Trahan, Sean OHair, Anthony Kim, Dustin Johnson and Charles Howell III). Watney finished second to Phil Mickelson at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship by one stroke after sharing the third-round lead. In a memorable finish, Watney nearly forced a playoff, but his putt from the fringe ended one rotation short of going in the hole. That finish put Watney No. 3 in FedExCup points, and he never fell out of the top 15. Watneys tie for sixth at The Barclays was his fourth top-10 of the season, but his first since finishing tied for fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Watney was bounced out of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup last year after The Barclays (he finished No. 109 in the standings) and went as far as the BMW Championship in 2007 (ultimately finished No. 41 in the standings). This year marks Watney's first start at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. |
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| Quick analysis |
| He started the season like gangbusters -- winning the Buick Invitational and finishing second to fellow Californian Phil Mickelson at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. A solid but unspectacular middle of the season may have cost Watney a berth on the Presidents Cup team. But he's turned it back on during the Playoffs and comes to his first TOUR Championship with some momentum. -- Helen Ross |
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| How Watney got here |
| Breaking down the FedExCup points won and rank after each start in 2009 |
| 12 |
-1 |
BMW Championship |
T30 |
187.5 |
2,170 |
5,026 |
| 11 |
-4 |
Deutsche Bank Championship |
T46 |
120 |
1,983 |
3,622 |
| 7 |
5 |
The Barclays |
T6 |
475 |
1,863 |
2,518 |
| 12 |
-1 |
PGA Championship |
CUT |
0 |
1,388 |
2,043 |
| 11 |
0 |
World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational |
T36 |
32 |
1,388 |
1,713 |
| 11 |
-1 |
Buick Open |
T46 |
22.5 |
1,356 |
1,195 |
| 10 |
0 |
British Open Championship |
T27 |
41 |
1,333 |
726 |
| 10 |
0 |
AT&T National |
T66 |
3.5 |
1,292 |
759 |
| 10 |
-2 |
U.S. Open Championship |
CUT |
0 |
1,289 |
327 |
| 8 |
-3 |
the Memorial Tournament |
T14 |
53 |
1,289 |
320 |
| 5 |
-1 |
THE PLAYERS Championship |
CUT |
0 |
1,236 |
195 |
| 4 |
0 |
Quail Hollow Championship |
T22 |
46 |
1,236 |
151 |
| 4 |
0 |
Zurich Classic of New Orleans |
CUT |
0 |
1,190 |
160 |
| 4 |
-1 |
Masters Tournament |
19 |
53 |
1,190 |
160 |
| 3 |
0 |
Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard |
T4 |
108.75 |
1,137 |
67 |
| 3 |
0 |
Transitions Championship |
T12 |
58.6 |
1,028 |
176 |
| 3 |
0 |
World Golf Championships-CA Championship |
2 |
315 |
970 |
234 |
| 3 |
0 |
Northern Trust Open |
T59 |
10 |
655 |
61 |
| 3 |
-1 |
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am |
T22 |
44 |
645 |
21 |
| 2 |
35 |
Buick Invitational |
1 |
500 |
601 |
46 |
| 37 |
34 |
FBR Open |
T12 |
58.6 |
101 |
546 |
| 71 |
0 |
The 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer |
T25 |
42 |
42 |
547 |
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| Previous Playoffs results |
| 2008 |
T62 |
CUT |
DNP |
DNP |
109th |
| 2007 |
T25 |
CUT |
T59 |
DNP |
41st |
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| Previous results at THE TOUR Championship |
| This will be Watney's first start in THE TOUR Championship. |
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