Round 4 - Jon Rahm eagles way to title

January 30, 2017

Spanish rookie Jon Rahm eagled two of the last six holes to clinch his first PGA Tour title by three shots in sensational fashion at the $6.7 million Farmers Insurance Open outside San Diego on Sunday.

His final eagle was stunning, a multiple-breaking 60-foot putt from the fringe at the back of the green at the par-five 18th where his ball took a final turn to the left before disappearing into the cup to spark jubilant celebration by Rahm and the watching fans.

The 22-year-old, who turned professional just seven months ago, covered his final nine holes in 30 strokes to card a seven-under 65 at Torrey Pines South Course and break clear of a crowded leaderboard.

Rahm finished at 13-under 275.

"It's amazing," a beaming Rahm told CBS Sports after becoming the youngest ever champion at Torrey Pines and emulating fellow Spaniards Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia as a PGA Tour winner.

"Just to get into that position (to win) is so hard and I am so blessed to be able to say that I did it on my third time having a chance to win, having just started my PGA Tour career."

Taiwan's Pan Cheng-tsung (70) and American Charles Howell III (68) tied for second on a see-sawing day when eight players held at least a share of the lead during the final round.

Rahm, who will jump into the top 50 in the world rankings after starting the week ranked 137th, was three shots behind heading into the final round.

He moved into a tie at the top when he drained an 18-foot eagle putt at the par-five 13th after hitting a superb second shot from a fairway bunker.

"That putt was a little bit of just lagging it up there and hoping that it kept the line," the Spaniard said. "I just aimed between the two spots that we were thinking of and thank god it went in."

Rahm edged a stroke in front when he sank a five-footer to birdie the par-four 17th and effectively secured the title with his spectacular eagle at the last.

"I was just focused on making putts and hitting the right shots," he said. "After that second shot on 13, I was able to execute it so good."

Round 3 - Brandt Snedeker & Patrick Rodgers share lead

January 29, 2017

Already a two-time winner at Torrey Pines, having a share of the lead is exactly where Brandt Snedeker wanted to be Saturday.

It's just not all that familiar to him.

Snedeker won last year in the Farmers Insurance Open by rallying from six shots behind in the final round that was stretched over two days because of high wind. His other victory at Torrey was in 2012, when he was seven shots behind and won in a playoff over Kyle Stanley, who made triple bogey on the last hole.

''I definitely like my odds better than the last two times I won at this place,'' Snedeker said.

Even with a tough day on the South Course's poa greens, Snedeker hung on for a 2-under 70 and was tied for the lead with Patrick Rodgers, who had a clean scorecard to match the picture-perfect day along the California coastline. Rodgers shot a 67 as he goes for his first PGA Tour victory.

''Exactly where I want to be, in the last group here,'' Snedeker said. ''This is obviously a tough golf course. There's a lot of guys within a couple shots of the lead, so it doesn't really mean a whole lot. But this place, for whatever reason, seems to bring out my best and I'm excited about the challenge.''

Snedeker and Rodgers were at 9-under 207, and Snedeker has been around long to know that a share of the 54-hole lead means nothing.

Fifteen players were within three shots of the lead.

The last time Snedeker had a share of the 54-hole lead at Torrey Pines was in 2007, his rookie year.

''Tiger won,'' he said with a laugh as he walked out the door.

Tiger Woods was long gone after missing the cut, along with Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler. Phil Mickelson is still very much in the picture after a 68 left him four shots behind in his bid to win at Torrey Pines for the fourth time, but first since 2001.

Rodgers is the latest player from the high school class of 2011 with a chance to shine, an athletic and powerful player who has been patiently waiting his turn. He picked up a little extra motivation from watching one of his best friends, former roommate Justin Thomas, sweep the Hawaii swing.

Before Thomas, it was Jordan Spieth who picking up big trophies at an alarming rate.

''I can't sit here and say it hasn't been hard at times,'' Rodgers said. ''Obviously, these are my best friends so I'm happy every time they have success. But on a personal level, I mean, those are the guys that I've always competed with and so it definitely tests my patience to see them have success and it's incredibly motivating.''

And it's not just Rodgers.

Also in range of a victory Sunday are two others from that high school graduating class - C.T. Pan of Taiwan, who played at Washington, birdied three of his last five holes for a 69 and was one shot behind; and Ollie Schniederjans struggled on the back nine but still managed a 71 to finish two shots back.

Also in the mix was Pat Perez, who grew up at Torrey Pines and whose father, Mike, is the starter on the first tee. Perez shot a 67 and goes into the final round just two shots behind.

Justin Rose, who started the third round with a one-shot lead, fell behind on the second hole and never caught up. He shot 73 and was in the large group at 7-under 209.

But it starts with Snedeker, the Tennessee native who loves the poa annua greens on the West Coast. A two-time winner at Torrey, he also has won at Pebble Beach. Snedeker has learned to accept the bad bounces, which is one reason he believes he does well.

His patience was tested on Saturday. Snedeker hit the ball so well that he only came close to bogey twice - his lone dropped shot was on No. 12 - and he missed seven birdies putts from the 15-foot range and closer.

''It was tested a lot,'' Snedeker said. ''That's part of it. If you're going to love poa, you have to love days like this, too, where you hit a lot of great putts and they just don't want to go in for whatever reason. ... I didn't let it affect my game plan, didn't let it affect the way I thought out there or did anything like that. This golf course does a great job of trying to make you do that, so proud of the way I hung in there.''

Rodgers was helped by a new putter from Odyssey that he put in the bag two weeks ago, in part because he liked the look, and in part because it's called ''Indianapolis.'' That's where Rodgers grew up, and the putter was named because of its technology came from Indy race cars.

Round 2 - Justin Rose shines as Tiger Woods misses cut

January 28, 2017

Justin Rose already achieved what he wanted Friday in the Farmers Insurance Open. One last birdie for the lead made the day a little bit better

Spooked by the bumpy greens late in the day at Torrey Pines that cost him two bogeys, Rose rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 closing hole on the South Course for a 1-under 71 that gave him a one-shot lead going into a weekend that no longer has as much star power.

Tiger Woods missed the cut in his return to the PGA Tour after 17 months. Perhaps more shocking was that Jason Day and Dustin Johnson also missed the cut, as did Rickie Fowler. Phil Mickelson was on the bubble until making a birdie on the 18th for a 72 to make the cut with one shot to spare.

Rose, who was at 8-under 136, now gets two more cracks at the South Course, where the average score for two days was 73.8.

''Everyone has played both courses now, and now we get to play the bruiser for the next two days,'' Rose said. ''So you just want to basically put yourself within shot.''

Brandt Snedeker saved par from a shot that nearly went out-of-bounds on No. 12, rammed in a birdie putt on the 13th and held on for a 69. He was one shot behind as he tries to join J.C. Snead, Woods and Mickelson as the only back-to-back winners since this event began in 1952.

Adam Hadwin of Canada, coming off a 59 and a runner-up finish last week in the California desert, shot a 71 and joined Snedeker at 7-under 137.

The cut was at even-par 144.

''I actually think the cut mark is incredibly low for two days around here,'' Rose said. ''Pretty much everyone who's made the cut is still in the golf tournament.''

It still was too high for Woods.

He opened with a birdie on the par-5 10th on the North Course. He added another birdie on the par-5 fifth. He threw in a pair of bogeys and never looked like he was going to be sticking around for the weekend. Woods shot 72 and missed the cut at Torrey Pines for the first time.

''I just didn't make enough birdies,'' Woods said. ''It's frustrating not being able to have a chance to win the tournament.''

On a course where he has won eight times, Woods has failed to finish 72 holes in his last three starts at Torrey Pines.

Day, the No. 1 player in the world, missed the cut for the second straight year at Torrey Pines as he struggled with his putter even on the new, smoother greens on the North Course. Johnson had a chance to rally to make the cut until he missed a 6-foot par putt and three-putted for par on his last two holes.

The tournament had 10 of the top 25 players in the world. Only five of them - Hideki Matsuyama, Rose, Paul Casey, Mickelson and Emiliano Grillo - survived.

''If you're not sharp and not striking it well, it's a difficult place to play,'' Mickelson said.

Lefty hasn't won at Torrey since his back-to-back victories in 2000-01 - before Rees Jones got his hands on it to beef it up for the 2008 U.S. Open - and while he was hovering on the cut line, he finished just seven shots behind and felt he was still in the game .

Rose had complete control of his game and was making enough putts to reach 9 under with a birdie on the 10th. He followed with a tee shot off the cart path and on a slope of deep grass leading to the 12th tee, but hacked it down to 18 feet on the fringe and holed it for a par.

But the middle of the back nine became aggravating when he missed a 6-foot par putt on the 14th, an 8-foot par putt on the 15th and a 5-foot birdie putt on the 16th.

''When the situation gets like that, you start to see not only some of the good stuff happening, but some of the bad stuff happening,'' Rose said. ''But it was really nice to finish the way I did on 18 because ... it was pretty hard to keep it out of the water at that point.''

The greens that kill so many players' confidence is where Snedeker thrives. The Tennessee native loves putting on poa annua, having won twice at Torrey and once up the coast at Pebble Beach. And he was at it again, keeping pace with Rose. But even Snedeker took his medicine with a 30-inch putt that spun out of the cup.

''Just have to take that with a grain of salt,'' he said. ''I'm right where I love to be here on the weekend, and this course isn't getting any easier.''

Round 1 - Justin Rose leads, Tiger Woods struggles

January 27, 2017

Tiger Woods produced the good, the bad and the ugly in his first PGA Tour start in 17 months on Thursday while Olympic champion Justin Rose set the early pace in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open.

Back in the familiar surroundings of Torrey Pines outside San Diego where he has won eight tournaments as a professional, Woods scrambled well on his front nine and made two early birdies after the turn before badly losing steam on the way to a four-over 76 on the South Course.

While Rose eagled two of the four par-fives on the easier North layout to move one ahead of the field with a sparkling seven-under 65, Woods dropped six shots in six holes from the 12th to end the day 11 strokes off the pace.

It was the 41-year-old's highest opening round to begin a PGA Tour season since he turned professional in 1996.

"I was one under through 11 and I was in a good spot to really shoot a good round ... but it went the other way," Woods told Golf Channel. "I hit some bad tee shots, made a bad three-putt there on 13 ... just kept compounding problems and mistakes out there."

Watched by huge galleries, Woods made a faltering start with an opening bogey after setting off in the company of world number one Jason Day and third-ranked Dustin Johnson.

After finding the right rough off the tee at the par-four first, he missed the green to the right with his approach and failed to get up and down in two.

Though he flared several iron shots to the right on the outward nine, Woods used his renowned scrambling abilities to save pars from several unpromising positions to reach the turn in one-over 37.

He gave fans something to celebrate with birdies at the 10th and 11th but his round unraveled over the next four holes. Wayward tee shots led to bogeys at the 12th, 13th and 14th and Woods ran up a double at the 15th after hooking his drive into a hazard.

He missed a five-foot putt to bogey the par-four 17th before signing off with a nine-footer to birdie the last.

Woods, who was sidelined by back pain and a series of surgeries, had not competed in a regular PGA Tour event since August 2015 and is also adjusting to his new TaylorMade clubs.

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