by SAN DIEGO — Harris English held off a hard-charging Sam Stevens to win the Farmers Insurance Open by a shot Saturday, securing his fifth career PGA Tour victory with a 1-for-73 in tough weather at Torrey Pines.
The Englishman completed his first tour victory since 2021 at 8-under 280. Stevens started both shots of the day with the lead, but took the fade with a 68 for the best final round of this edition of a tournament with a tradition of furious last days. rallies.
Stevens was playing six groups ahead, but his impressive numbers did not fail the 35-year-old Englishman, who made two early bogeys in a round that began amid a strong wind in a different direction than previous cycles. The Englishman stabilized his game and finished calmly with 12 consecutive pars.
“It’s difficult to win,” said the Englishman. “I might look calm out there on the course, but inside your emotions are going crazy. I just know how hard it is to win. It’s so much fun. You need to soak it when you do this.
The Englishman was professional until the end: he put his tee shot on the 18th in the rough, but returned to the fairway before putting his 115-yard approach shot squarely on the green. He two-shots for the win, rolling his 25-footer to 7 inches for a tap-in and a subdued celebration.
Andrew Novak finished third at 6, missing his first tour victory with a disappointing 74 after briefly taking the lead.
Sungjae IM and Kris Ventura tied for fourth at 5 under.
The Englishman had not won since surviving an eight-hole playoff with Kramer Hickok at the Travelers Championships in 2021, although he still has nine top-10s in the previous two seasons after missing five months at the early 2022 while recovering from hip surgery. English already had a strong history at Torrey Pines, where he lost a four-way playoff to Jason in 2015 and then finished third at the US Open in 2021.
The Englishman took the lead on Friday with three consecutive birdies to close out his 66 in the third round, capitalizing on the mildest day in the weather to move to the magnificent coastal course.
The wind that forced an 86-minute delay in the second round Thursday returned in intermittent strength early Saturday on the ocean holes, although it calmed somewhat in the afternoon. Lanto Griffin wore a woolly white beanie with a pom pom on top, while many fans broke out winter jackets that don’t normally get much use in San Diego.
Novak and English, who live on the same Coastal Georgia island, played together in the final group — and while English overcame his early hiccups, Novak was up and down.
Novak opened with two bogeys, but then took the lead with three consecutive birdies. He rolled in an astonishing 54-foot putt on the fifth, perfectly reading the drop from the high level of the green. Novak put both hands to him in disbelief.
“That putt on 5, I could hit that hundred times and not even sniff the hole,” Novak said. “Just crazy.”
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Novak made three bogeys and a birdie around the round, while the Englishman began his string of pars, repeatedly getting up with minimal fuss.
Stevens finished his round about 90 minutes before Novak and English, keeping pressure on the leaders. Novak couldn’t apply his own pressure to the Englishman, making no birdies on the back nine.
“It was just a rollercoaster ride through the first nine,” Novak said. “Eventually it settled in the back, but it just wasn’t close enough approach shots to give me any birdie opportunities.”
Stevens turned Pro in 2018 and joined the tour in 2023. The Oklahoma State product matched his previous best finish when runner-up to Corey Connors at the Valero Texas Open in April 2023.
He charged up the Torrey Pines leaderboard despite the wind, making four birdies on the front nine. Stevens even saved PAR on the 18th after putting his second shot in the water while trying to reach the green in two.
“Those greens are tricky, especially (when) you get a little wind,” Stevens said. “Today I just made the putts. I guess they just waited until Sunday to come in for me, and sometimes that’s how it is. You take them when you get them. “
World No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama finished at 1. He will return to San Diego in three weeks to defend his title at the Genesis Invitational, which was moved from Riviera to Torrey Pines.
Ludvig Åberg, who led after each of the first two laps, finished 3rd after battling illness in his final two laps.
