Woods leads Farmers by six with 11 holes to play
It was a long, draining day along the cliffs above the picturesque Pacific Ocean on Sunday. But when the sun finally began to set, second-round leader Tiger Woods had tripled his advantage at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, Calif.
Woods, a six-time winner of the event, entered the fog-delayed third round with a two-stroke cushion over Billy Horschel. He shot a 3-under-par 69 to lift his lead to four, then played seven holes in the final round before play was called due to darkness, touring them in 3-under.
As a result, the 37-year-old Woods will have a six-stroke advantage on his nearest competitor when play resumes Monday at 2:10 p.m. ET. He will begin on the par-3 eighth hole and has 11 holes remaining on the South Course to secure his 75th PGA Tour victory.
Tiger has completed 61 holes and is at 17-under. Defending champion Brandt Snedeker (67 holes) and 2009 champion Nick Watney (62 holes) are tied for second at 11-under.
During his PGA Tour career, Tiger has previously led or shared the lead after 54 holes 53 times, winning 49. Most recently, he accomplished the feat at the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Woods was paired with Bill Horschel and Casey Wittenberg all day Sunday in mostly cloudy, breezy conditions, and he started the third round strong. After a two-putt par from 21 feet at the par-4 first hole, Tiger birdied the next two holes.
At the 389-yard, par-4 second, Woods nestled a pitching wedge from 100 yards seven inches from the cup. He nearly matched that at the downhill, 201-yard, par-3 third hole, flagging a mid-iron three feet from the pin.
Tiger made a nice two-putt par from long range at the par-4 fourth, then bogeyed the 454-yard, par-4 fifth. He missed the green to the right with his approach shot from 177 yards, hit a poor pitch six feet past the cup and failed to make the putt.
Woods carded a nice, bounce-back birdie at the 560-yard, par-5 sixth, the easiest hole on the course. After driving into the left rough, he knocked a 5-wood from 230 yards onto the front of the green and two-putted from 40 feet.
Tiger two-putted the par-4 seventh for a par, then made a nice up-and-down from left of the green at the 177-yard, par-3 eighth, chipping to two feet. Woods missed a three-foot birdie attempt at the par-5 ninth, but still made the turn in 2-under 34.
To begin the back nine, Tiger almost holed his short approach shot from 111 yards at the par-4 10th, the ball spinning back six feet below the cup, then easily converted for a birdie.
Woods then parred Nos. 11 and 12, two-putting from long distance at both. At the 614-yard, par-5 13th, Tiger drove into the right rough, hit a nice lay-up 109 yards from the pin, then hit a beautiful third shot that landed behind the back-right pin placement and spun two feet under the hole for an easy birdie.
When Woods two-putted the par-4 14th hole for par from 35 feet, making a four-foot comebacker, he increased his lead on the field to six shots. He followed with a pair of two-putt pars, from 25 feet at the par-4 15th and 24 feet at the par-3 16th.
Tiger nearly sank a 34-foot birdie putt at the 442-yard, par-4 17th, bending over in disbelief when the ball refused to break left at the cup. However, he dropped a shot at the 570-yard, par-5 18th, where his tee shot found the right fairway bunker and rolled up near the front lip.
Woods couldn’t do much with the shot other than to hit the ball 50 yards down the fairway, but his right foot slipped and his second shot finished in the right rough. Faced with a spongy lie from 186 yards, Tiger muscled a 7-iron that caught the back-right bunker, left a poor bunker shot eight feet short of the cup and missed the par putt. It marked his first-ever bogey on the hole as a professional.
It was not the finish Woods wanted, but still left him with a 69 and a four-shot lead over Brad Fritsch. Tiger was solid most of the round, hitting 15 of 18 greens and eight of 14 fairways in regulation. He also used 31 putts on the treacherous poa annua greens, where two-footers are no bargain because of the foot traffic and bumpy surfaces, especially later in the day.
“I played really, really well,” said Woods. “I hit the ball good and I putted good. It seemed like I was always in pretty good position.”
After a 35-minute lunch break, Woods began his fourth round with Horschel and Wittenberg.
Tiger had to scramble on the first two holes, hitting poor drives way left. At the first, he punched a nice second shot onto the front of the green and wound up two-putting from more than 30 feet.
He pulled his driver even further left at the par-4 second, the ball finishing near the sixth fairway. Again he had a clear shot and knocked a pitching wedge just over the left greenside bunker, the ball settling into the thick rough. Tiger hit a wonderfully judged third shot three feet from the cup and sweated out another tricky par putt, grateful to see the ball disappear into the hole.
After a long wait at the par-3 third, Woods steadied by flushing a 6-iron 11 feet below the cup. He then drained a much-needed birdie putt to gain some breathing room on the field. That marked back-to-back birdies on one of the most challenging holes on the course.
Things didn’t look too good at the par-4 fourth, where the ocean borders on the left. Tiger blocked a driver to the right, and the ball stopped behind a small Eucalyptus tree. But, using all of his skill and imagination, he punched a low cut shot just short of the green and chipped in for an unlikely birdie, increasing his advantage to six strokes.
Even the paragliders, hovering nearby about 700 feet above the ocean, were impressed, clapping appreciatively.
After missing the last five fairways off the tee, Woods drilled a beautiful driver down the fifth fairway. He hit an 8-iron for his second shot, but caught the right-front bunker for the second straight time. Tiger wasn’t pleased with his sand shot, the ball stopping eight feet short of the pin, but rolled in the putt to maintain his momentum.
At the par-5 sixth, Woods drove into the right rough. Still, his second shot reached the green, and his 28-foot, uphill eagle putt almost found the hole, leaving a short birdie try.
Tiger drove nicely at the par-4 seventh and was left with 181 yards to the green. He knocked his approach shot 32 feet below the hole and two-putted before play was suspended.
Fans hoping to watch Monday’s finish can see live coverage on the Golf Channel starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. CBS takes over coverage at 4 p.m.
