Las Vegas, Nevada (May 14, 2011)–Vegas golf notes from THE PLAYERS: Nick Watney didn't follow up his first-round 64 at THE PLAYERS the way he would like, but he is still in contention to win golf's fifth major. Watney recorded a 71 in the second round. Entering the third round he was one shot behind David Toms. Watney is a resident of the Las Vegas Golf Region. —By Brian Hurlburt.
"I'm not exactly happy," Watney told the media after the round. "I felt like I let quite a few get away out there, but I guess that's just the game. And I'll try to work on it today and maybe I'm saving it for the weekend. Well, we got the wind this afternoon. It makes it a little bit trickier. I think, as predicted, the greens will firm up as the rounds go on. I think a low score will be earned this weekend."
Former Las Vegas Invitational Champion Davis Love III made a nice move and is contending. He opened with rounds of 69-68 and credits his course knowledge as a main reason for his solid play. "This golf course, you have to play it the way it gives you, the way Pete wants you to play it," said Love III. "You can't all of a sudden decide to be careful or be aggressive, because it's not going to do you much good. So you have to play each hole the way it's designed. Like today, you have to adjust to the wind. If the greens get firmer and faster, you're just going to have to be that much more patient. You can't really be aggressive here. You have to play smart."
Love III won the 1993 Las Vegas Invitational. The Las Vegas Golf Region is the home to more than 60 Las Vegas golf courses and also hosts many big golf events including the current incarnation of the Las Vegas Invitational. these days the event is called the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.