San Diego, Feb 2 (PTI) Indian American golfer Sahith Theegala compiled his second straight Top-10 finish as he rode on a fine run of four birdies in a row in the middle of the final round of the Farmers
Insurance Open here.
He carded 6-under 66 with seven birdies and one bogey and totalled 14-under to finish tied 7th. A week earlier he was tied 8th at American Express.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju (72) was T-56, while Akshay Bhatia missed the cut.
Justin Rose was in a class of his own at Torrey Pines and cruised to a seven-shot wire-to-wire win. He carded 2-under 70 to get to 23-under 265 which also broke Tiger Woods’ 72-hole tournament record last set in 1999.
Rose’s rounds were 62-65-69-70 as the tournament had one of its best weeks of weather.
Theegala birdied the first and the third and dropped his only shot on the fourth. He got on a birdie run from seventh to the 10th, but then parred six in a row, often from 10-15 feet. He had his last birdie on the 17th and closed with a par for a 66.
Theegala plays the Waste Management Phoenix Open next week.
Englishman Rose, 45, who is playing some of the best golf in his career moved to No. 3 in the world. Only Vijay Singh was older when ranked that high in September 2008.
No one got closer than the six-shot lead he had at the start of the final round. He tapped in for par to finish at 23-under, one better than Woods and George Burns in 1987. He was also the first wire-to-wire winner at Torrey Pines in 71 years, since Tommy Bolt in 1955.
Si Woo Kim (69), Ryo Hisatsune (69) and Pierceson Coody (66) shared runner-up honours.
Brooks Koepka finished his return to the PGA TOUR with familiar cheers on the ninth green when he tapped in a birdie putt for a 70. There were some 300 people around the green, most of them shouting, “Welcome back, Brooks.” Rose, who won at Torrey Pines in 2019, now has 13 career titles on the PGA TOUR. PTI Cor AH AH
