Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Harris English fired a gritty one-over par 73 on the tough Torrey Pines South Course on Saturday, winning the Farmers Insurance Open by one stroke to end a US PGA Tour title drought of more than three years. The 35-year-old from Georgia conquered his emotions and cold, blustery conditions on the scenic Southern California course, parring the last 12 holes on the way to an eight-under par total of 280 and a one-shot victory over Sam Stevens.
“I’ve been doing this for 14 years and it never gets any easier,” said English, his voice breaking with emotion. “It’s hard to win. I might have looked calm out there on the course, but inside your emotions are going crazy.” English started the day with a one-shot lead but gave two strokes back with bogeys at the first and fifth. He regained a stroke with his lone birdie of the day at the sixth, then put his head down and got the job done.
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English’s last four holes encapsulated his day: a par save at the 15th, a two-putt par from the fringe at the 16th, and two-putt pars from 55 and 24 feet at the last two holes. “I enjoy the grind of it,” said English, who added that he likes playing a course where “you’ve got to put your mouthpiece in” and step up for the fight. “I feel like I did that… I played to the right spots and I just kept plugging along.”
Stevens’s four-under par 68 was the low round of the day. He climbed the leaderboard with four birdies on the front nine and bounced back from a bogey at 13 with a five-foot birdie at the 17th. “That was big, post a number and make those guys at least earn it coming down the stretch,” said Stevens, who spent well over an hour keeping himself ready for a potential playoff. “Glad I got up and down there.”
Novak, playing in the last group, briefly seized the lead during a wild front nine that featured four bogeys, four birdies, and just one par. But he dropped back with bogeys at the 10th and 15th, carding a two-over par 74 for solo third on 282. “It was just chaos early,” he said of his bogeys at the first and second. He followed with three straight birdies, curling in a stunning 54-footer at the fifth to reach nine-under. “That putt on five, I could hit that a hundred times and not even sniff the hole again, just crazy,” he said. “It was just a rollercoaster on that front nine. Finally got it settled in on the back, but just wasn’t hanging approach shots close enough to give myself birdie opportunities.”
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