As always, Torrey Pines South Course gave today’s PGA TOUR stars a brutal test, not to mention a day of wild weather that brought rain, fog and glow.
Patrick Reed found a pair of long eagle putts on the sixth par-5 hole in the third and fourth rounds and showed some strength down the field Sunday to shut out a five-shot shutter.
With his ninth TOUR title he moved to 10th both in FedExCup and in world rankings.
Here are five stories you could miss from the Farmers Insurance Competition.
1. Reed stood short when he counted
Patrick Reed had already sent out his 45-foot eagle to scavenge many of the main opponents on the face of nine while running the Open Insurance Cup. When he made the turn – in fact – there were three other competitors. One was killed behind him, two others sat back behind. But with that said, Torrey Pines South Course can always be dangerous. Just ask Kyle Stanley to lead as many as seven in the final round of 2012 and with three coming down the 18th only to make a triple bogey and lose a playoff to Brandt Snedeker.
So when Reed missed the green way at the 10th, 12th and 14th holes, he could have opened the door for others. Instead, he showed his inner stability and found ways to get up and down for essential pars. Importantly, such others as Viktor Hovland, Carlos Ortiz and vice-champion Jon Rahm – could not do the same.
Reed had to punch out of trees on the 15th but rose up and down from 50 yards. The three-picture guide later gave everything but the deal. At the end of the day, he was 63rd in the field in green in management but still won. Less than one percent of winners on TOUR over the past 30 years have been low.
The win is good news for Reed as Torrey Pines will be hosting the US Open in June. He may be even harder over those four days, but he knows he will find ways to get the ball in the hole while under pressure.
Read more about his win here.
2. Xander can play well at home after all.
For San Diego native Xander Schauffele, Torrey Pines had never been a happy hunting spot in the past. Despite growing up in the area and getting it as a high school course, Schauffele joined the week after losing four cuts in five starts at the Farmers Insurance Championship.
This time things were finally different. Schauffele may not have been a bad threat to the title on Sunday but his 68-69 weekend was good enough to finish as a runner-up to Reed and give him some confidence on return trips – the Open Championship is the SA the next man. in June.
“I’m happy enough,” he said. “It’s good to get over the croft. This is one of my favorite rides of the year and I show up here every year and I miss the cut almost every time. It’s good to have a good finish.
“What I put together two rounds I think is the big thing. I haven’t played well on An Cùrsa Tuath yet. Fortunately, the U.S. Open, that’s going to be four rounds on the south side. It’s a great play and a great feeling out there that I’m going to take away from him. ”
3. Viktor Hovland has a long future in this game
For a minute behind nine on Sunday it looked like Hovland could be the one to run down on Reed and create some drama in the end. Just one blow down at the turn young Norway had a good chance of adding the third TOUR award at just 23 but in the end they couldn’t let down the desperate putts.
After a 4-under nine, he was riding a big move but on the back, while Reed was making every appearance, Hovland moved three of the last five holes. He missed a golden opportunity for a birdie on the 13th from 6ft and then found trouble coming close to No. 14 and off the tee at No. 15.
“Of course, the nine faces were awesome, they made four birdies and they were just solid green; he made putts there too. In the background I didn’t feel like I was playing badly at all … it was just a mistake or two and it’s so easy to let things like that slip away, ”he said.
“It’s cool to be like being up there with a chance to win. I didn’t work out this time but I feel like I learned a lot and I’m looking forward to next week. I feel like my game has been moving in a good way, so I need to keep working on the things I need to keep working on and hopefully next. once I can get my way out a little further. ”
4. Top 10-athon
Reed’s win was also his 50th top-10 finish PGA TOUR. He was the first player to make his 50th career in 10 victories since Jason Day won the 2016 World Golf Championship – Dell Technologies Match Play.
But there were other interesting facts among the top 10.
Tony Finau was again close to winning without winning. With his second finish – hot off the heels of a week-long fourth place finish – Finau has four top 10s this season without a win.
He is now 36 top 10 without a win since the start of the 2016-17 season and the most run finishes (seven) without a win through that one window.
Xander Schauffele also has seven finals since he last won the 2019 Sentry Tournament.
Will Zalatoris, a temporary special member, is now on the top 10 of this season after his T7 and 14 top 10 since the start of 2020 in the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR combined.
Henrik Norlander (T2) equaled his best PGA TOUR career.
Ryan Palmer (T2) won his second win at the Farmers Insurance Championship and the first since losing in a playoff in 2018.
Making his fifth appearance at the Farmers Open Insurance Championship, 2017 champion Jon Rahm T7, finished his fourth consecutive top-10 finish on the PGA TOUR (T2 – ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD, T7 – Masters, T7 – Competition Sentry Champions and T7 – Open Insurance Farmers). Torrey Pines has all five of his results, starting with a win in 2017 now reading 1-T29-T5-2-T7.
5. APGA alumni make waves.
The week was really big for some APGA Tour alumni.
Unfortunately Kamaiu Johnson had to postpone his dream of a PGA TOUR debate when it tested positive for COVID-19 before the Farmers Insurance Competition began. But it was announced shortly after receiving an invitation from a sponsor at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Honda Classic.
Entering Torrey Pines in his place was Willie Mack III – who will also get a head start at The Genesis Invitational through the Charlie Sifford Memorial Liberation. Mack III missed the cut but achieved more than was commendable.
Kevin Hall, a hearing-impaired golfer who also plays the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, was able to finish third at an APGA event held Saturday on Torrey Pines North. He is now confident in his preparations for a trip to Carmel.
TOUR TOP 10