Watney, Fowler share lead

Associated Press

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa.

Before he even teed off, Rickie Fowler knew this was going to be a different day at the AT&T National. The course record already had been matched, with several other low rounds in progress at suddenly soft Aronimink Golf Club.

One thought crossed his mind: Go time.

That’s the message Fowler always puts on Twitter right before he plays, and off he went. He birdied six of his opening 10 holes — and missed two other chances inside 10 feet. He wound up with a 6-under 64 on Saturday and a share of the lead with Nick Watney, who set the course record with a 62.

“I got out, and my game has been feeling good all week,” Fowler said. “Went out and started off well, hit some good shots and kept moving from there.”

Watney took a while to get moving. He made a mess of the par-5 ninth and was even-par on the front nine, going nowhere. What happened after that, not even Watney can explain.

“The hole looked really big on the back,” said Watney. “The ball was going where I was looking, and by the time I looked up, I was 8 under.”

That’s 8 under for his round, and the back nine alone.

After three straight birdies, he then made a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th. Facing a dangerous pin on the par-3 17th, he went after it with a wedge to 5 feet and another birdie. Watney shot 27 on the back, missing by one the PGA Tour’s nine-hole record.

When the massacre of Aronimink was over — 40 of 76 players shot in the 60s, including 14 rounds at 66 or better — nothing had really been settled except for a lot of birdies being made.

Fowler and Watney were at 9-under 201, one shot ahead of 36-hole leader K.J. Choi, who came to life late in his round with two birdies on the final three holes to salvage a 69.

Steve Marino, who had a 63 to own the course record for about 20 minutes, was two shots behind at 7-under 205 along with Webb Simpson (64) and Adam Scott (66).