Nick Watney’s sharper short game has helped him to two titles in the past four months and put himself in good position to clinch a third by surging two shots clear at the World Challenge on Thursday.
The soft-spoken US golfer birdied four of the last six holes at Sherwood Country Club to fire a five-under-par 67 in the opening round of the elite, 18-man event hosted by Tiger Woods where only three other players broke 70.
“I played pretty well on the back nine,” Watney said after coming home in four-under 32 to end an overcast day at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains two ahead of compatriots Keegan Bradley and Jim Furyk, and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.
Photo: Reuters
“The front nine was a little sloppy. My short game is definitely where I need it to improve for next year. I’ve kind of been getting into that a little bit, and it helped me today,” Watney said.
Asked by reporters what particular area of his short game he had been working on, Watney replied: “For me personally, I can always get better at chipping. I’m not at the top of the tour in chipping stats, that’s for sure. So that is a huge key, especially in this month of December for me.”
“But putting can hide a lot of things,” said Watney, who totaled 27 putts on Thursday. “If you make a lot of eight and 10-footers, you don’t have to chip it as well as other guys, so that’s definitely a huge key.”
Watney’s overall form improved markedly after he worked with swing coach Butch Harmon for a week before the US Open in June.
Following a string of consistent performances, he went on to win the fifth PGA Tour title of his career at the Barclays tournament in August, then triumphed at the PGA Tour co-sanctioned CIMB Classic in Malaysia last month.
“After spending some time with Butch, something kind of clicked there, and I started playing much better,” the world No. 16 said. “I think that was kind of the turnaround.”
“Now I want to keep going higher [in the world rankings]. Tiger and Rory [McIlroy] are very impressive, and all the top players, they continue to strive to get better. That’s my goal, is to really try to get better, and really try and get in contention as much as I can. The more you’re there [in contention], the more you win, and that’s the best part about playing on the Tour — winning,” he said.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two