Las Vegas, Nevada (July 4, 2011)–The headline of this article sounds bad and like Las Vegas Golf Region resident Nick Watney will be headed to rehab soon. But the 'addiction' referred to in the header is a good thing and one that he wants to get worse. Watney has played so well over his last 20 or so tournaments that craves the adrenalin created by being in the hunt of a PGA Tour tournament. –By Brian Hurlburt
This week, he won his second tournament of the season. His win at the AT&T National also gave him eight top 10 finishes on the year and catapulted him into first place in the FedEx Cup standings. Watney lives in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas, and works with fellow Las Vegas Golf Region resident Butch Harmon at Harmon's school in Las Vegas. "I think I just want to keep improving, keep putting myself in this position," said Watney following his victory. "It's a very addictive feeling to be out there and under the gun, and to be able to hit good shots and putts is why I play, really. I want to keep working hard. We've got two majors to go, so hopefully I can put myself in a good position in one of those tournaments. I think I've learned from the first two that I maybe placed a little too much importance on the Masters and the U.S. Open, so I'm going to go to the British — I'm going to enjoy this and then go to the British and try to do my best but maybe take it a little easier on the bad shots and whatnot."
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"I wouldn't say I've figured it out,: said Watney. "I mean, this game is — I said back on the green, if somebody would have watched me putt last week, they wouldn't believe that I would be sitting here with you guys. I think it's just kind of my journey. Obviously Rory is 22 years old or whatever, so in years he's a lot way ahead of me. But I think I'm just really trying to work hard and kind of assess my game and work on the weaknesses. I'm doing some good work with Butch; Dr. Mo has been great for me; my caddie Chad has been great. It's just been — I feel like it's a process, and I just need to keep working hard and hopefully keep winning."
Watney might have been given the biggest pat on the back by something his swing coach didn't say. "We texted, but Butch always says one of his strengths is to not say anything if there's nothing to be said, so he just said, 'keep doing what you're doing and we'll talk again today,'" said Watney. As usual, Butch was correct. Quotes from ASAPSports.com