Aaron

Watkins

Watkins was the eighth alternate when the field was released on Friday afternoon. He gained entry via a sponsor exemption this morning. The first-timer at Colonial has missed two cuts in as many starts since a T8 in New Orleans four weeks ago. He’s 170th in FedExCup points.

Watkins hasn’t played poorly, but hasn’t made enough birdies in events where scores have been especially low to make a cut. He played this event in his rookie year of 2009, but missed the cut with rounds of 71 and 77 for a 4-over tally. All signs point to a rocky week.

Watkins tied for eighth at TPC Louisiana to earn a top-10 exemption into the WFC. Both of his top 10s in 28 career PGA TOUR starts have occurred at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Last week’s moved him to 162nd in FedExCup points. He’s 0-for-1 at Quail Hollow (2009).

His only other start in this event came in 2009, where he missed the cut. That was before the venue changed to TPC San Antonio, so he will be starting fresh this week. Making just one cut so far this year, he needs to get things going fast.

This is the only the second time this year Watkins has been around for the weekend, with a T30 in Puerto Rico the other payday. He began his day on the 10th hole and opened with three birdies on his first four holes, two if them from over 15 feet. He added short birdies on the par-5 18th and par-5 second, then chipped in for birdie on the par-5 eighth and holed another chip for birdie at the par-3 ninth from just off the green. He is currently an alternate for the Wells Fargo Championship, but should he hold on to a spot inside the top 10 this week he would earn a spot in the field.

Watkins received one of the final four sponsor exemptions into the field of 132. This will be his first appearance in the tournament. He’s coming off a T30 at the Travelers, which is just his third payday in 12 starts this season. He’s 165th in FedExCup points.

Watkins began his day on the back nine at Crestview Country Club and added five birdies to just one bogey, improving to 11-under 129 for the tournament. For the second consecutive day, he landed 13 GIR and putted to a 1.615 average. He is an impressive 8-under on the par 4s this week. He looks to earn his first Web.com Tour victory over the weekend.

Watkins circled seven birdies and settled for 11 pars on his lap around Crestview Country Club in Wichita, Kansas. As one would expect for a first-round leader, all facets of his game were on point. He missed just two fairways, found 13 GIR and putted to 1.615 average. This is his 121st start on the Web.com Tour, and while he’s never won a tournament, he has eight top-10 finishes and a runner-up over the years.

Watkins got into the field via his T-7 at the Zurich Classic. This will be his first time in the Quail Hollow Championship.

It’s been a bit of a tough year for Watkins, with five missed cuts in seven starts. He currently is in 149th place on the Tour’s Money List because one of his two made cuts was a T-7 at the Zurich Classic.