Miller Time

Camilo Villegas reacts to narrowly missing an eagle putt on the par-5 18th during the final round (Photo: Eddie Meeks).

UP

Nick Watney. He did win, after all. The 27-year-old is often an afterthought in conversations of the top 20-somethings on the PGA Tour, but his second career win has definitely elevated his stock.

DOWN

John Rollins. The Texas resident is now 0-for-4 in converting 54-hole leads. He had a three-shot lead after making eagle on the par-5 13^th, then threw it away with bogeys on two of the next three holes. And those dropped shots on the first two holes after finding the fairway each time weren’t too helpful, either.

UP

The Sunday crowds. The weather was beautiful for the final round, and there were noticeably thicker galleries throughout the South Course.

DOWN

The Buick Invitational without Tiger Woods. Maybe San Diegans are spoiled for being so used to having the greatest player ever tee it up on an annual basis, but even with an exciting finish at the 18^th, it just wasn’t the same. Come back soon, Eldrick.

UP

Charley Hoffman. The Poway native fluttered out of contention after an unfortunate triple bogey on the first hole Saturday, then hung tough for the rest of the weekend and closed with a respectable even-par 72 Sunday. Maybe the all-around statistic isn’t as strong an indicator of success as the money list; nevertheless, it’s worth noting Hoffman is at the top of that totem pole after playing three events.

DOWN

Camilo Villegas. After opening with a nine-under 63, the brash Colombian couldn’t go any lower for the rest of the week. Villegas hit a ton of beautiful putts in the final round that kept barely sliding by the cup, but I’ll bet he’s still thinking about that expensive double bogey he made on the par-5 ninth in his third round.

UP

Paul Goydos. It was good to see the Coto de Caza resident back on the PGA Tour. He undoubtedly has a lot on his mind with the recent passing of his ex-wife, and tying for 17^th in his first event back was solid.

DOWN

Phil Mickelson. It’s just hard to figure this guy out. The Rancho Santa Fe resident remains a fan favorite, but his weekend performance was well below his standards. Mickelson struggled on the par 5s all week, and he made bogey each of the three times he teed it up on the South par-3 11^th hole.

UP

David Feherty. During final-round television coverage, the colorful CBS on-course reporter had a great bit on Craig Stadler’s infamous towel incident on 1987 and Ian Baker-Finch taking his pants off to a hit a shot out of the water in 1993. Not everything Feherty does is gold, but this was.

DOWN

The Golf Channel. I couldn’t stand it when the Golf Channel cut away from early-morning weekend coverage at 11:30 to go to Golf Central. If you’re going to go to the trouble of showing live golf before CBS goes on air, why not keep it rolling all the way through? Who wants to listen to guys talk about golf when actual pros could be shown instead?