Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Justin Rose fired seven birdies in another dominant display on Torrey Pines’ formidable South Course on Saturday, his four-under par 68 giving him a six-shot lead in the US PGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open. The 45-year-old from England got off to a blistering start and held his nerve on Torrey’s testing back nine to build a 54-hole total of 21-under par 195.
“I thought that was the round of the week from tee to green anyway,” said Rose, whose 12 US tour titles include a 2019 triumph at Torrey. He led by as many as eight shots and finished the day six strokes in front of American Joel Dahmen, who had five birdies and a bogey in his 68 for 201. Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and South Korean Kim Si-woo shared third on 203, Hisatsune posting a 68 and Kim a 69.
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Rose had set a 36-hole tournament record at 17-under par to start the day with a four-shot lead. He picked up right where he left off with a birdie at the second, sticking his approach six feet from the pin. He did the same at the fifth to launch a run of three straight birdies, two-putting from 33 feet at the sixth and landing his approach in tight again at the seventh. Rose was leading by eight strokes after another six-foot birdie putt at the 10th before he was slowed by back-to-back bogeys at 11 and 12. He righted the ship with a birdie at the par-five 13th, where he missed the green but chipped to three feet from dense rough well below the green.
He gave back a shot at the par-three 16th, where he was unable to get up and down from a greenside bunker, but punctuated his round with a birdie at the par-five 18th. “There’s never going to be any complacency,” Rose said of his mindset heading into Sunday. “There’s always enough respect for the game of golf in the back of your mind that you’ve got to do everything right tomorrow. Somebody can always really shoot a great round and therefore you’ve got to get around this golf course in a pretty decent score. That’s the mentality.”
Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, who battled to make the cut in his first non-major PGA Tour start since he defected to the renegade LIV golf circuit in 2022, carded a one-over par 73 to finish the day in a share of 61st on two-under 214. Koepka, one of the highest-profile players to jump to the divisive LIV league, announced in December he would leave the Saudi-backed circuit, and his return to the PGA Tour was facilitated by a new program for returning players that includes limitations on eligibility for some top events as well as financial penalties.
The US star again drew warm, supportive galleries, but his struggles on the greens included a double bogey at his second hole, the 11th, where he three-putted from four feet. He had five birdies on the day but closed with a three-putt bogey from three feet at 18. “You just miss a few and you’ve got zero confidence,” Koepka said. “I’m just going to chalk it up to just a bad day, but I’m happy with everything else.”
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