SAN DIEGO — Nick Watney was gearing up for a celebration at Torrey Pines that would have made Tiger Woods proud when he caught himself, settling instead on a subdued fist pump that better fits his personality.

His birdie putt on the 18th hole was just inside 3 feet, straight up the hill, not quite as dramatic as the 12-foot birdie Woods made on the 72nd hole at Torrey Pines last year to force a U.S. Open playoff that he won the next day.

"I'd like to imitate pretty much everything Tiger does," he said. "But that was not planned at all. I was more worried about the 3-footer. I mean, I just hope the first pump looked halfway decent."

After a stunning turnaround Sunday afternoon, when Watney refused to lose hope even when he trailed by three shots with five holes to play, the 27-year-old Californian was posing with a Buick Invitational trophy that has belonged to Woods the last four years.

With two birdies on the last three holes, Watney closed with a 4-under 68 to complete a five-shot comeback.

Rollins and Watney stood on the 18th fairway, separated by only a few yards of distance to the flag on the par 5, both believing it would take a birdie to win, or at least keep playing.

Rollins was classy in defeat, making no excuses for the three-putts, the poor chip on the 14th, the 5-iron into a plugged lie in a bunker on the 16th that led to a scrambling bogey, or even his failure to hit the 18th green in two shots.