Farmers Insurance Open: Harris English Hangs on by 1

by | Jan 26, 2025 | Pro News

Harris English endured gusty winds up to 24 mph and a spirited charge from Sam Stevens to edge Stevens by a shot and win the Farmers Insurance Open.

English, the third-round leader after rounds of 68-73-66, shot a 1-over-par 73 on a challenging South Course at San Diego’s Torrey Pines in Saturday’s final round of the Farmers Insurance Open – the four-day tournament started on Wednesday so as not to conflict with the NFL’s NFC and AFC Championship games on Sunday – for an 8-under-par total of 280.

Stevens, who started the final day six shots off the lead, had Saturday’s low round at 4-under 68 to jump into second place at 281. Andrew Novak, who briefly held the lead on Saturday, shot 74 to finish third, two shots behind English at 282. Two-time PGA Tour winner Sungjae Im and Kris Ventura, who both shot final-round 71s, tied for fourth at 283.

It was the fifth career victory for the 35-year-old English and his first title since the 2021 Travelers Championship. He became the third player in tournament history to shoot an over-par final round and win the event, joining John Daly (75) in 2004 and Jack Nicklaus (73) in 1969.

Steady English pars his last 12 holes at the Farmers Insurance Open

“I knew it was going to be a tough (final) day, but I love that,” said English, who finished with 12 consecutive pars to hold off Stevens, who was six groups ahead. “I love this golf course when it plays really tough. I knew with the wind, you’re probably not going to get somebody … coming up and throwing a 65, 66 out here. So as a leader coming into the final round, you kind of like that. It’s going to be a grind, and you’re going to miss fairways, miss greens, but you’ve got to miss them in the right spot.”

Farmers Insurance Open

“It’s always a journey,” an emotional English said in his Farmers Insurance Open postmatch interview on CBS while holding his daughter, Emilia Elizabeth. “I’m 35 now. I’ve been doing this for 14 years, and it never gets easier. I enjoy the grind of it. I love being out here on the PGA Tour. And I love doing stuff like this.”

English, who won the Travelers in an eight-hole playoff with Kramer Hickok, had lost a four-way playoff at Torrey Pines to Jason Day in 2015 and finished third behind Jon Rahm at Torrey in the 2021 U.S. Open.

“I’ve been close a long time,” English said. “I was close at the U.S. Open, and Jon birdied the last couple of holes. I feel like I’ve been right there here. I love the setup, and kind of everything aligned this week. I played an unbelievable round Friday … (but) it’s tough. Your emotions are all over the place, but I knew that being out here for 14 years, I’ve got to use that to my advantage. The guys that were around me had not won before, so I knew I had a little bit of an upper hand.”

Novak, who played in the final group with English, bogeyed the first two holes Saturday, then made three straight birdies to take the lead. But Novak had three bogeys and a birdie on holes 7-10 to fall behind English, who shook off bogeys on the first and fifth holes with a birdie on No. 6, then parred in for the win.

farmersinsuranceopen.com

Tour returning to Torrey Feb. 13-16

Because of the wildfires in Los Angeles, the PGA Tour is moving the Genesis Invitational from Riviera Country Club to the South course at Torrey Pines from Feb. 13 to 16. The fires have not damaged Riviera, but it is located in the Pacific Palisades, which has been devastated by fires that have destroyed more than 14,000 structures in the Los Angeles area.

World No. 1 Scheffler playing at Pebble Beach

Scottie Scheffler is playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this week, his first tournament of the year since cutting his hand while preparing a Christmas dinner. Scheffler was the 2024 PGA Tour player of the year and had nine victories, including his second Masters title and a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

Jordan Spieth is making his first Tour start since undergoing wrist surgery last August. Rory McIlroy is playing in his first PGA Tour event of 2025 after starting his season on the DP World Tour.

Wyndham Clark is the defending champion, capturing the $3.6 million top prize last year by one shot over Ludvig Aberg. The $20 million signature event at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course was shortened to three days last year because of unplayable wind and rain on the final day.

OnCoreGolf
OnCoreGolf

About the Author