Nope, he is famous because of the club his cousin covers. He’s not Nick Watney, golf star. He’s Cousin of Heidi [Watney], the intrepid Red Sox reporter for NESN. He swings for a living. Heidi covers swings for a living. On Heidi’s Twitter page, she trumpets the fact that she is Nick’s cousin. Here it is the other way around.
That’s why TPC Boston must feel like an alternate dimension to 30-year-old Watney, a San Francisco Giants fan, according to his PGA bio. He’s a professional athlete. His pulchritudinous cousin merely covers professional athletes, yet the later makes Heidi more notable in New England.
If Watney wasn’t aware of his cousin’s star status, he was made aware of it yesterday when he eagled the par-5 second hole to move to 11 under and sole possession of the lead. Afterward, a wise guy from the gallery shouted, “Where’s Heidi?’’
“She is definitely close to a celebrity here,’’ said Watney, who had a roller-coaster round of 71 that left him right where he started yesterday, 8 under. “I think we’ve been here six days now, so I’m kind of getting used to it, for sure. I’m glad she is doing so well. She came out [Saturday] and caused a stir.’’
Would a win here change the local Q ratings for the Watneys? Probably not, but it’s not out of reach for Watney, even after a bewildering up-and-down round yesterday. Watney’s 71 left him within striking distance for today, tied for 12th, three shots in back of leader Bubba Watson.
Early on it looked like it was Watney, paired with Zac Efron doppelganger Rickie Fowler, he of the Crayola box golf couture, that would tee off on top of the leaderboard on Labor Day.
He went out on the front nine in 3-under 33. A birdie on the seventh negated a short par putt he missed on No. 5 and gave him a share of the lead at 11 under. But the back nine was not kind to Watney, as the wind picked up and he encountered the bogey-man to shoot 3-over 38.
