Harris English shoots 1-over par(73) in the final round at Torrey Pines South Golf Course to hold off a climbing Sam Stevens(-7) by one stroke, on Saturday, Jan. 25.
With difficult weather and green conditions, the players fought to stay on the leaderboard as the lowest score was just 4-under par(68) on Championship Saturday.
“I knew it was going to be a tough day today, I love that. I love this golf course when it plays really tough. I knew with the wind…you’re not going to really see somebody coming up and throwing a 65, 66 out there today,” English said.
Coming into an unconventional PGA TOUR event, with the final round taking place on Saturday due to NFL Championship Sunday, the star power was quite underwhelming in this year’s tournament at Torrey Pines.
There were only 18 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, and 10 of the top 30, who were competing in San Diego’s annual tournament. Despite it being the beginning of the PGA season, numerous TOUR players have opted to take this week off due to two Signature Events coming up in the next couple of weeks.
With The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am starting on Jan. 30 through Feb. 2 and The Genesis Invitational starting on Feb. 13 through Feb. 16, some players would rather shift their focus toward those events. As these are two of the bigger events to start the season, many of the top guys are focusing on getting their bodies healthy and prepared for these upcoming tournaments.
Coming into this week, those who were in attendance were ready for the challenge that Torrey Pines brings every year. Since this course has held two U.S. Open tournaments in 2008 and 2021, it’s always a great test for the players to start their season.
World No. 12 Ludvig Åberg looked forward to the test of skill to see if his game was truly where he wanted it to be.
“I like coming here, it’s a big boy golf course and I’m really looking forward to it,” Åberg said. “South course is obviously known for its length and the thick rough. Being able to drive it well’s going to be important.”
Åberg came out strong with the lowest score of the weekend, shooting 9-under(63), during the first round on the North Course. He found himself in first place with a three-stroke lead going into the second round.
However, Åberg battled an illness for the rest of the tournament, which affected his ability to stay below par and caused him to decline out of contention. He would finish his weekend at 3-over par, shooting a 79 on the final day.
Despite having a low score in round one, the top contenders stayed around that number due to the conditions becoming much tougher. On Thursday, play was suspended for a little over an hour due to extreme weather conditions. There were gusts of winds up to 30 mph, causing the balls to not remain still on the greens.
The lowest total score after day two was 6-under par, three shots worse than the first round.
“The course is tough. I think it plays definitely firmer and harder than last year…Like the golf course is really prepared to put the players all in a little bit of trouble this week,” 2024 Farmers Insurance Open Champion Matthieu Pavon said.
Coming into the third round, weather seemed to be less of an issue as there were lower scores throughout the South Course. There was a major shift in leaders after day three, marking Harris English and Andrew Novak shooting 66 each, and Aldrich Potgieter shooting 67.
These would be the top three competitors heading into Championship Saturday.
As the final round was upon us, players knew that Torrey Pines would be in its toughest conditions yet. The greens were firm and the wind was playing a major factor in ball flight and distances.
Potgieter struggled on the final day, shooting 6-over(78) to drop him down to a tie for 15th place. English and Novak hung around as they grinded to shoot a 73 and 74 to finish their week.
However, Sam Stevens surged into second place with a low score of the day, shooting 4-under(68), forcing English and Novak to earn their spots.
Coming into the final hole, English needed just a par to secure a victory, while Novak needed a birdie to have a tie for second.
The lengthy 570-yard par five forces even the pros to layup and play the hole with caution. With that being said, Novak would make par to lock in his spot at third place.
English had a fairly routine approach shot, just needing to put it on the green and two-putt to win the tournament. He successfully played his wedge shot just over the water to be pin-high for his birdie putt.
As he walked up to the green, fans were cheering him on to win his first tournament in four years. He lagged the first putt right by the hole, leaving him an easy tap-in for the victory. This marks the first time that he’s held onto a lead after 54 holes in four years.
“It’s the first I’ve slept on a lead in a long time. I don’t really know if I’ve done that in my PGA TOUR career. It’s never easy,” English said in a post-tournament press conference.
The scoring average on Saturday was 74.75, marking the highest average of this tournament at Torrey Pines since 1968. Torrey tends to play at a Major Tournament level, but it was at a different type of difficulty last weekend.
Nonetheless, English was grateful to have his family support him and keep his mind off of golf throughout his weekend.
“It was nice having my family out this morning. It was pretty easygoing. We were watching some kids’ shows, no Golf Channel, no Sports Center. Not my usual TV during tournament week. It was good to keep my mind off of it,” he said.
After an emotional win for English, overcoming hip surgery in 2022 and winning in front of his daughter, he looks forward to returning to Torrey Pines in just a few weeks.
“I was hoping they would choose this course to come back to…I’m looking forward to it. We’re excited about coming here and playing this again,” he said.
Torrey Pines Golf Course will host their second tournament in a month-long timespan, as The Genesis Invitational will be relocated to San Diego from Feb. 10-16, due to the recent fires in Los Angeles.
As this is a Signature Event, the star power will be present as English attempts to come back and play another consistent week at Torrey Pines.
