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.
Photo: AFP
“It’s hard to win. I might have looked calm out there on the course, but inside your emotions are going crazy,” he said.
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.
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,” he said.
Stevens’ 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.
He kept the pressure on with a par save at 18, where he splashed his second shot into the pond at the left front of the green, but fired his fourth shot at the pin and made a four-foot par putt to walk off the course with a seven-under total of 281 — tied with Andrew Novak one shot behind English.
“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,” he said.
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.
However, 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 roller coaster 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.”
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS