Harris English captured his fifth PGA Tour victory at the Farmers Insurance Open, holding off Sam Stevens by one shot at Torrey Pines. English’s final round 73 was enough to finish at 8-under 280 in challenging conditions.
Stevens made things interesting with a tournament-best final round 68, climbing from six shots back to put pressure on English. But the 35-year-old veteran kept his composure, particularly down the stretch where he made 12 straight pars to close it out.
“It’s hard to win,” English said. “I might have looked calm out there on the course, but inside your emotions are going crazy. I just know how hard it is to win. It’s just so much fun. You’ve got to soak it in when you do it.”
Name
Events
Top 10
Money
Harris English
335
47
$31,284,689
The win marks English’s first Tour victory since the 2021 Travelers Championship, where he outlasted Kramer Hickok in an eight-hole playoff. He’s been knocking on the door lately with nine top-10 finishes over the past two seasons, impressive considering he missed five months in 2022 recovering from hip surgery.
Torrey Pines has been good to English – he finished third here at the 2021 U.S. Open and lost a four-way playoff to Jason Day in 2015. This time, he sealed the deal with a clutch approach from 115 yards on 18, setting up an easy two-putt for the win.
Andrew Novak, who lives on the same Georgia coastal island as English, took third at 6-under after a rollercoaster final round 74. He briefly held the lead after draining an incredible 54-foot putt on the fifth hole.
“That putt on 5, I could hit that a hundred times and not even sniff the hole again,” Novak said. “Just crazy.”
The weather played a significant role, with strong winds blowing in different directions than previous rounds. The conditions were so tough that Lanto Griffin broke out a wooly white beanie with a pompom – not exactly standard San Diego golf attire.
Stevens, in just his second year on Tour, matched his career-best finish from last year’s Valero Texas Open. He made four birdies on the front nine and even saved par on 18 after finding the water.
Sungjae Im and Kris Ventura tied for fourth at 5-under. World No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama finished at 1-over, while early tournament leader Ludvig Åberg, battling illness, ended at 3-over.
