CareerBuilder Challenge 2018

DATES: January 18-21 SITE: La Quinta, CA PRIZE MONEY: $5,900,000 Round 4 – Jon Rahm wins CareerBuilder Challenge in playoff January 21, 2018 Spain’s Jon Rahm birdied the fourth playoff hole to beat Andrew Landry and capture his second US PGA Tour title at the CareerBuilder Challenge in California. Rahm, projected to rise one spot to number two in the world when the world rankings are updated on Monday, had five birdies in his bogey-free five-under 67 on the Stadium Course in La Quinta to seize the clubhouse lead on 22-under par 266. Embed from Getty Images But Landry, seeking a first PGA Tour title, rolled in an 11-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole to cap a four-under 68 and force the playoff. Both players parred the first three playoff holes — although each had birdie chances to win. Rahm finally broke through when they returned to the 18th for the third time in the playoff. After finding the fairway at each of the first three playoff holes he was in the right rough, but still reached the green in two. After he rolled in his birdie putt, Landry missed his from a similar distance on the other side…

DATES: January 18-21
SITE: La Quinta, CA
PRIZE MONEY: $5,900,000

Round 4 – Jon Rahm wins CareerBuilder Challenge in playoff

January 21, 2018

Spain’s Jon Rahm birdied the fourth playoff hole to beat Andrew Landry and capture his second US PGA Tour title at the CareerBuilder Challenge in California.

Rahm, projected to rise one spot to number two in the world when the world rankings are updated on Monday, had five birdies in his bogey-free five-under 67 on the Stadium Course in La Quinta to seize the clubhouse lead on 22-under par 266.

Embed from Getty Images

But Landry, seeking a first PGA Tour title, rolled in an 11-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole to cap a four-under 68 and force the playoff.

Both players parred the first three playoff holes — although each had birdie chances to win.

Rahm finally broke through when they returned to the 18th for the third time in the playoff. After finding the fairway at each of the first three playoff holes he was in the right rough, but still reached the green in two.

After he rolled in his birdie putt, Landry missed his from a similar distance on the other side of the hole.

“It’s an amazing feeling … to play the way I did and give myself a chance,” said the 23-year-old Rahm, who has four victories worldwide in the past year.

“Obviously props to Andrew. To birdie 18 from the right rough, having to birdie it, that’s a heck of an accomplishment.

“Either one of us would have been a deserving champion,” added Rahm, who defends his first PGA Tour title at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines starting on Thursday.

“I never thought I was going to be at this point in my life right now,” he said, adding that it was “hard to believe” that he would move past three-time major winner Jordan Spieth into second place in the world rankings led by American Dustin Johnson.

Rahm, the highest ranked player in the field, opened the week in impressive style with a 10-under par 62.

He couldn’t maintain that pace, and after a third-round 70 was two strokes behind rookie Austin Cook heading into the final round.

He was tied for the lead at 20-under after rolling in an 18-foot putt for his third birdie of the day at the 10th, and kept the chasing pack at bay with back-to-back birdies at 13 and 14 that moved him to 22-under.

Despite his impressive ball-striking, Rahm missed opportunities to give himself more of a cushion.

At the par-five 16th he followed up an impressive tee shot with a second shot that left him short of the green. His third shot gave him seven feet for a birdie but he missed that — unable to pick up strokes at any of the Stadium Course’s three par-fives.

In the meantime, Landry was putting together a round that included five birdies and a bogey.

While Cook’s bid for a second PGA Tour title was doomed by a pair of double-bogeys, a string of other players threatened the lead.

John Huh carded a six-under par 66 to head a group sharing third on 268 that also included Canadian Adam Hadwin (68) and American Martin Piller (70).

Kevin Chappell’s 67 included four birdies in a row from the ninth through the 12th and put him on 269, tied with fellow American Scott Piercy who carded a 70.

Jason Kokrak birdied five straight holes on the back nine to get to 21-under but closed with a bogey and a double-bogey in a 69 that saw him tied on 18-under 270 with Sam Saunders (64) and Brandon Harkins (70).

Pos. Player Nat To Par R1 R2 R3 R4 Total
1 Jon Rahm ESP -22 62 67 70 67 266
2 Andrew Landry USA -22 63 65 70 68 266
T3 Adam Hadwin CAN -20 66 67 67 68 268
T3 John Huh USA -20 68 69 65 66 268
T3 Martin Piller USA -20 64 67 67 70 268

Click here for full scores.


Round 3 – Austin Cook hits 64 and takes lead heading into final round

January 20, 2018

Austin Cook hit a hybrid into the fairway bunker on the par-4 18th on a breezy Saturday afternoon at La Quinta Country Club, then chunked a wedge and raced a chip 20 feet past the hole.

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Kip Henley, the longtime PGA Tour caddie who guided Cook to a breakthrough victory at Sea Island in November, stepped in to give the 26-year-old former Arkansas star a quick pep talk.

”Kip said, ‘Let’s finish this like we did on the first day at the Nicklaus Course.’ We made a big par putt on 18 there and he said, ‘Let’s just do the same thing. Let’s get this line right and if you get the line right it’s going in.”’

It did, giving Cook an 8-under 64 and a one-stroke lead in the CareerBuilder Challenge going into the final round on the Stadium Course at PGA West. Fellow former Razorback Andrew Landry and Martin Piller were tied for second, and Jon Rahm and Scott Piercy were a another stroke back after a tricky day in wind that didn’t get close to the predicted gusts of 40 mph.

”I know that I wouldn’t have wanted to play the Stadium today,” Cook said. ”I think we got a great draw with the courses that we got to play on the days that we got to play them.”

Cook played the final six holes on the front nine in 6 under with an eagle and four birdies.

”Starting on my fourth hole, I was able to make a birdie and kind of get the ball rolling and it never really stopped rolling,” Cook said. ”Kip and I were doing really good at seeing the line on the greens.”

After a bogey on 10, he birdied 11, 12 and 15 and parred the final three to get to 19-under 197.

”I think that tonight the nerves, the butterflies, all that will kind of be a little less,” Cook said. ”I’ve been in the situation before and I was able to finish the job on Sunday. I think it would be a little different if I didn’t play like I did on Sunday at Sea Island.”

He’s making his first start in the event.

”I came in from Hawaii on Monday, so I only had two days to prepare for three courses,” Cook said.

Landry, the second-round leader, had a 70 at the Stadium. Piller, the husband of LPGA Tour player Gerina Piller, shot a 67 at La Quinta. Winless on the PGA Tour, they will join Cook in the final threesome.

”Piller’s a good guy and we have played a lot together and same with Cookie,” said Landry, the only player without a bogey after 54 holes. ”Hope the Hogs are going to come out on top.”

Rahm had a 70 at the Stadium to reach 17 under. The third-ranked Rahm beat up the par 5s again, but had four bogeys – three on par 3s. He has played the 12 par 5s in 13 under with an eagle and 11 birdies.

”A little bit of a survival day,” Rahm said.

The wind was more of a factor on the more exposed and tighter Stadium Course.

”The course is firming up,” Rahm said. ”I know if we have similar wind to today, if we shoot something under par, you’ll be way up there contesting it over the last few holes.”

Piercy had a 66 at the Stadium.

”I controlled my ball really well today,” he said.

Adam Hadwin had a 67 at La Quinta a year after shooting a third-round 59 on the course. The Canadian was 16 under along with Grayson Murray and Brandon Harkins. Murray had a 67 on the Nicklaus Course, and Harkins shot 68 at the Stadium.

Phil Mickelson missed the cut in his first tournament of the year for the second time in his career, shooting a 74 on the Stadium to finish at 4 under – four strokes from a Sunday tee time. The 47-year-old Hall of Famer was playing for the first time since late October. He also missed the cut in the Phoenix Open in his 2009 opener.

Charlie Reiter, the Palm Desert High School senior playing on the first sponsor exemption the event has given to an amateur, also missed the cut. He had three early straight double bogeys in a 77 on the Stadium that left him 1 over.

John Daly had an 80 at La Quinta. He opened with a triple bogey and had six bogeys – four in a row to start his second nine – and only one birdie. The 51-year-old Daly opened with a 69 on the Nicklaus layout and had a 71 on Friday at the Stadium.

Pos.
Player
Nat
To Par
Today
R1
R2
R3
Total
1
Austin Cook
USA
-19
-8
63
70
64
197
T2
Andrew Landry
USA
-18
-2
63
65
70
198
T2
Martin Piller
USA
-18
-5
64
67
67
198
T4
Jon Rahm
ESP
-17
-2
62
67
70
199
T4
Scott Piercy
USA
-17
-6
68
65
66
199
T6
Adam Hadwin
CAN
-16
-5
66
67
67
200
T6
Brandon Harkins
USA
-16
-4
64
68
68
200
T6
Grayson Murray
USA
-16
-5
65
68
67
200
T9
Jason Kokrak
USA
-15
-1
63
67
71
201
T9
Seamus Power
IRL
-15
-7
70
66
65
201


Round 2 – Landry seizes lead in CA, Rahm 1-behind

January 19, 2018

Andrew Landry fired seven birdies in a seven-under par 65 on Friday to seize a one-stroke lead over world number three Jon Rahm in the US PGA CareerBuilder Challenge in California.

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Landry nabbed five of his seven birdies on the back nine at the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West– one of three in use over the first three days of the event in La Quinta in the desert east of Los Angeles.

Landry, ranked 184th in the world and in search of his first US PGA Tour title, missed just three greens in regulation and has yet to make a bogey this week.

His 16-under total of 128 put him one ahead of Spain’s Rahm, the overnight leader after a sizzling first-round 62 who carded a 67.

Rahm teed off on the 10th on the Nicklaus Tournament Course. He opened with back-to-back birdies before a bogey at the 12th, He sandwiched two more birdies at 13 and 15 around a bogey at 14 before notching three more birdies coming in.

“I wasn’t as pure as yesterday,” Rahm said. “Everything was just a little bit off.”

It was a further stroke back to American Jason Kokrak, who had six birdies in a five-under 67 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course.

Two-time major winner Zach Johnson led a group sharing fourth on 131 alongside Michael Kim and Martin Piller. Johnson and Kim both carded 64s on the Nicklaus Tournament Course, where Kim notched an eagle and six birdies without a bogey, Piller posted a 67 on the Stadium Course.

“Doing a lot of good things,” Johnson said. “If we’re going to pick apart a weakness it’s probably I haven’t been putting great … but ball strike’s good. I’m hitting my driver in the fairway, I’m getting more loft into these greens the last two weeks than I’ve ever been accustomed to.”

Five-time major-winner Phil Mickelson, making his 2018 debut, carded a 68 on the Nicklaus course to find himself 10 off the pace.

“I’ve been pretty pleased, overall, with the way I’ve been driving the ball, and very displeased with the way my iron game has been,” Mickelson said.

“Usually my iron play is a lot better than what it’s been,” added Mickelson, who has hit just 21 of 36 greens in regulation over the first two rounds.

“So I’ll go work on it and hopefully improve each round … I feel like if I continue to drive the ball the way I am, and if I got my iron play back to my normal standard, I should have the results that I’ve been expecting.”

Pos.
Player
Nat
To Par
R1
R2
Total
1
Andrew Landry
USA
-16
63
65
128
2
Jon Rahm
ESP
-15
62
67
129
3
Jason Kokrak
USA
-14
63
67
130
T4
Martin Piller
USA
-13
64
67
131
T4
Michael Kim
KOR
-13
67
64
131
T4
Zach Johnson
USA
-13
67
64
131
T7
Brandon Harkins
USA
-12
64
68
132
T7
Brian Gay
USA
-12
68
64
132
T7
Nick Watney
USA
-12
65
67
132


Round 1 – Rahm seizes lead with career-low 62

January 18, 2018

Spain’s Jon Rahm fired a 10-under par 62 on Thursday to seize a one-stroke lead in the first round of the US PGA Tour CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, California.

Embed from Getty Images

Rahm, the highest-ranked player in the field at number three in the world, sizzled on the La Quinta Country Club course — one of three in use over the first three rounds — with eight birdies and an eagle.

He was one stroke in front of Americans Austin Cook, Jason Kokrak and Andrew Landry.

It was a further stroke back to Brandon Harkins, Martin Piller, Beau Hossler and Aaron Wise.

With back-to-back birdies to start, an eagle at the par-five fifth and birdies at six and seven Rahm was six-under through his first seven holes.

He couldn’t help but remember Canadian Adam Hadwin’s 59 on the La Quinta course last year.

“Any time you have that going for you, you get thoughts come in your head, 60, maybe 59,” Rahm said. “I knew that if I kept playing good I was going to have more birdie opportunities, and I tried not to get ahead of myself.”

Although he couldn’t break 60, Rahm was pleased with the lowest round of his career on the PGA Tour.

“That’s golf,” said Rahm, who picked up four more birdies coming in. “You’re not going to make every single putt, you’re not going to hit every shot perfect. I birdied the last hole, had a couple of great sand saves coming in, shot 10-under par.

“There’s not much more I can ask for,” added Rahm, who hit 12 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation and needed 25 putts.

Kokrak seized his share of second by playing his last five holes, the fifth through ninth at La Quinta, in five-under par, with three birdies and an eagle.

Landry had five birdies and an eagle on his outward run at La Quinta and picked up two more birdies coming in while Cook fired seven birdies and an eagle on the Nicklaus Tournament course.

Five-time major-winner Phil Mickelson making his first start since the WGC-HSBC Champions in October, got off to a fast start with four birdies in his first six holes at La Quinta.

But Mickelson had three bogeys and just one more birdie the rest of the way, capping his round with a bogey at the par-four 18th.

“It was fun to get back out and be competitive,” Mickelson said. “I for some reason am stuck on 70 here at La Quinta, whether I get off to a good start or a bad one I end up shooting the same score.”

Pos.
Player
Nat
R1
1
Jon Rahm
ESP
62
T2
Andrew Landry
USA
63
T2
Austin Cook
USA
63
T2
Jason Kokrak
USA
63
T5
Aaron Wise
USA
64
T5
Beau Hossler
USA
64
T5
Brandon Harkins
USA
64
T5
Martin Piller
USA
64
T9
Brian Harman
USA
65
T9
Grayson Murray
USA
65
T9
Jhonattan Vegas
VEN
65
T9
Nick Watney
USA
65
T9
Talor Gooch
USA
65
T9
Wesley Bryan
USA
65


Scores

  Playoff 1 2 3 4      
  Hole 18 18 10 18      
  Par 4 4 4 4      
  Jon Rahm 4 4 4 3      
  Andrew Landry 4 4 4 4      
Pos. Player Nat To Par R1 R2 R3 R4 Total
1 Jon Rahm ESP -22 62 67 70 67 266
2 Andrew Landry USA -22 63 65 70 68 266
T3 Adam Hadwin CAN -20 66 67 67 68 268
T3 John Huh USA -20 68 69 65 66 268
T3 Martin Piller USA -20 64 67 67 70 268
T6 Kevin Chappell USA -19 71 64 67 67 269
T6 Scott Piercy USA -19 68 65 66 70 269
T8 Brandon Harkins USA -18 64 68 68 70 270
T8 Jason Kokrak USA -18 63 67 71 69 270
T8 Sam Saunders USA -18 70 67 69 64 270
T11 Harris English USA -17 67 68 70 66 271
T11 Jhonattan Vegas VEN -17 65 69 68 69 271
T11 Seamus Power IRL -17 70 66 65 70 271
T14 Austin Cook USA -16 63 70 64 75 272
T14 Bud Cauley USA -16 67 68 71 66 272
T14 Grayson Murray USA -16 65 68 67 72 272
T17 Aaron Wise USA -15 64 69 72 68 273
T17 Andrew Putnam USA -15 69 66 69 69 273
T17 Peter Uihlein USA -15 70 64 70 69 273
T20 Beau Hossler USA -14 64 69 73 68 274
T20 Brendan Steele USA -14 71 69 66 68 274
T20 Brian Harman USA -14 65 68 70 71 274
T20 Charles Howell III USA -14 67 70 66 71 274
T20 Nick Taylor CAN -14 68 71 69 66 274
T20 Ricky Barnes USA -14 71 65 68 70 274
T20 Ryan Palmer USA -14 69 67 67 71 274
T20 Stewart Cink USA -14 68 69 65 72 274
T20 Zach Johnson USA -14 67 64 73 70 274
T29 Hudson Swafford USA -13 66 68 70 71 275
T29 Kevin Streelman USA -13 67 69 68 71 275
T29 Lucas Glover USA -13 66 68 71 70 275
T29 Nate Lashley USA -13 67 71 68 69 275
T29 Richy Werenski USA -13 67 67 71 70 275
T29 Russell Knox SCO -13 69 64 71 71 275
T29 Tom Lovelady USA -13 73 64 71 67 275
T36 Chez Reavie USA -12 67 69 71 69 276
T36 Derek Fathauer USA -12 71 66 70 69 276
T36 James Hahn USA -12 68 66 72 70 276
T36 Jason Dufner USA -12 69 69 70 68 276
T36 Tyrone van Aswegen RSA -12 68 71 65 72 276
T36 Webb Simpson USA -12 69 66 72 69 276
T42 Ben Crane USA -11 70 67 68 72 277
T42 Brian Gay USA -11 68 64 73 72 277
T42 Bronson Burgoon USA -11 68 66 68 75 277
T42 Chesson Hadley USA -11 71 67 69 70 277
T42 Hunter Mahan USA -11 68 67 69 73 277
T42 Kevin Na USA -11 66 67 74 70 277
T42 Patton Kizzire USA -11 70 66 69 72 277
T42 Rob Oppenheim USA -11 67 68 70 72 277
T50 Alex Cejka GER -10 66 70 71 71 278
T50 Corey Conners CAN -10 68 68 69 73 278
T50 Kevin Kisner USA -10 67 68 67 76 278
T50 Michael Kim KOR -10 67 64 71 76 278
T50 Nick Watney USA -10 65 67 72 74 278
T50 Sam Ryder USA -10 67 71 70 70 278
T50 Sean O’Hair USA -10 68 70 69 71 278
T57 Ben Martin USA -9 69 67 71 72 279
T57 Brett Stegmaier USA -9 71 68 67 73 279
T57 David Lingmerth SWE -9 71 65 71 72 279
T57 Robert Garrigus USA -9 72 65 71 71 279
T57 Tom Hoge USA -9 69 73 66 71 279
T57 Trey Mullinax USA -9 70 64 70 75 279
T63 Brice Garnett USA -8 74 68 66 72 280
T63 Scott Brown USA -8 70 69 69 72 280
T63 Sung-Hoon Kang KOR -8 68 69 69 74 280
T63 Wesley Bryan USA -8 65 75 68 72 280
T67 Talor Gooch USA -7 65 72 69 75 281
T67 Tom Whitney USA -7 68 68 71 74 281
T69 Billy Hurley III USA -6 73 67 66 76 282
T69 Chris Stroud USA -6 70 68 70 74 282
T69 Keith Mitchell USA -6 70 66 72 74 282
T69 Matthew Every USA -6 66 74 67 75 282
T69 Rory Sabbatini RSA -6 69 69 66 78 282
T69 Smylie Kaufman USA -6 69 68 70 75 282
75 John Peterson USA -5 70 68 69 76 283
76 Abraham Ancer USA -4 69 67 71 77 284
77 Benjamin Silverman CAN 4 67 71 70 84 292
CUT Cheng Tsung Pan TPE -7 67 70 72 209
CUT Chris Kirk USA -7 71 65 73 209
CUT Daniel Summerhays USA -7 67 73 69 209
CUT Lanto Griffin USA -7 72 64 73 209
CUT Lee Janzen USA -7 69 69 71 209
CUT Martin Flores USA -7 69 71 69 209
CUT Maverick McNealy (a) USA -7 66 68 75 209
CUT Peter Malnati USA -7 69 72 68 209
CUT Ryan Blaum USA -7 68 70 71 209
CUT Scott Stallings USA -7 69 71 69 209
CUT Troy Merritt USA -7 68 68 73 209
CUT Tyler Duncan USA -7 68 69 72 209
CUT Brandt Snedeker USA -6 72 71 67 210
CUT Conrad Shindler USA -6 67 73 70 210
CUT Denny McCarthy USA -6 75 66 69 210
CUT J. J. Spaun USA -6 71 70 69 210
CUT Jim Herman USA -6 69 72 69 210
CUT Rick Lamb USA -6 72 67 71 210
CUT Xinjun Zhang CHN -6 72 70 68 210
CUT Bill Haas USA -5 72 68 71 211
CUT D. J. Trahan USA -5 71 70 70 211
CUT Greg Chalmers AUS -5 68 69 74 211
CUT Jon Curran USA -5 69 74 68 211
CUT Patrick Reed USA -5 74 70 67 211
CUT Sang-Moon Bae KOR -5 69 69 73 211
CUT Vaughn Taylor USA -5 69 71 71 211
CUT Adam Schenk USA -4 72 68 72 212
CUT Brian Stuard USA -4 70 67 75 212
CUT Cameron Tringale USA -4 70 72 70 212
CUT Chad Campbell USA -4 69 71 72 212
CUT Colt Knost USA -4 66 75 71 212
CUT J. J. Henry USA -4 75 68 69 212
CUT Phil Mickelson USA -4 70 68 74 212
CUT Zecheng Dou CHN -4 67 72 73 212
CUT Bubba Watson USA -3 70 71 72 213
CUT Jeff Gove USA -3 70 74 69 213
CUT Jonathan Byrd USA -3 67 71 75 213
CUT Matt Atkins USA -3 67 76 70 213
CUT Matt Jones AUS -3 69 74 70 213
CUT Michael Block USA -3 71 73 69 213
CUT Ryan Armour USA -3 68 74 71 213
CUT Ted Potter Jr. USA -3 71 68 74 213
CUT Zac Blair USA -3 75 66 72 213
CUT David Hearn CAN -2 71 73 70 214
CUT Fabian Gomez ARG -2 72 68 74 214
CUT Kyle Thompson USA -2 72 68 74 214
CUT Luke List USA -2 74 71 69 214
CUT Mark Brooks USA -2 68 73 73 214
CUT Steve Wheatcroft USA -2 69 72 73 214
CUT Charles Reiter USA -1 68 70 77 215
CUT Danny Lee NZL -1 70 71 74 215
CUT Geoff Ogilvy AUS -1 72 72 71 215
CUT Joel Dahmen USA -1 68 72 75 215
CUT Mackenzie Hughes CAN -1 70 70 75 215
CUT Martin Laird SCO -1 70 72 73 215
CUT Jimmy Walker USA Par 68 74 74 216
CUT Johnson Wagner USA Par 73 71 72 216
CUT Rod Pampling AUS Par 77 66 73 216
CUT Cameron Percy AUS 1 72 71 74 217
CUT Nicholas Lindheim USA 1 76 71 70 217
CUT Ethan Tracy USA 2 74 71 73 218
CUT Harold Varner III USA 2 71 71 76 218
CUT Meen-Whee Kim KOR 2 70 69 79 218
CUT Blayne Barber USA 3 71 79 69 219
CUT J. T. Poston USA 3 72 71 76 219
CUT Shawn Stefani USA 3 71 71 77 219
CUT Camilo Villegas COL 4 69 77 74 220
CUT John Daly USA 4 69 71 80 220
CUT Mike Weir CAN 4 74 75 71 220
CUT Roberto Diaz MEX 4 69 71 80 220
CUT Stephan Jaeger GER 4 71 73 76 220
CUT Mark Wilson USA 5 78 74 69 221
CUT Jason Gore USA 7 79 72 72 223
CUT Andrew Loupe USA 8 74 70 80 224
CUT Charlie Beljan USA 9 76 72 77 225
CUT Dominic Bozzelli USA 9 72 70 83 225
CUT Andrew Yun USA 16 76 76 80 232
RET Corey Pavin USA Par 0
RET Jonathan Randolph USA Par 71 74 145
Updated: October 6, 2022