Rose sets scoring record in wire-to-wire Torrey Pines romp. Korda wins wind-shortened LPGA opener
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Justin Rose became the first wire-to-wire winner at Torrey Pines in 71 years, starting with a six-shot lead and never letting anyone get any closer to him Sunday as he closed with a 2-under 70 to win the Farmers Insurance Open.
Rose opened with a 62 on the North course at Torrey Pines and really never let up all week, playing even better on the South course that has hosted two U.S. Opens. He wound up breaking the 72-hole tournament record at 23-under 265, one better than Tiger Woods in 1999. George Burns also shot 266 in 1987.
That was his only real challenge, smaller goals to keep him pushing — the 45-year-old from England wanted to increase his lead each day, and he was aware of the tournament record. He got both. Tommy Bolt in 1955 is the only other player to lead from start to finish without ties at Torrey Pines.
This was little more than a battle for second and that was a tie. Si Woo Kim (69), Ryo Hisatsune (69) and Pierceson Coody (66) shared runner-up honors.
Brooks Koepka finished his return to the PGA Tour after defecting from LIV Golf with familiar cheers on the ninth green when he tapped in a birdie putt for a 70.
Rose, who also won at Torrey Pines in 2019, has 13 career titles on the PGA Tour. He moves to No. 4 in the world, his highest ranking in more than six years.
LPGA Tour
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Nelly Korda won for the first time in 14 months without having to hit a shot Sunday when the LPGA Tour reduced the season-opening Tournament of Champions to 54 holes because of wind and cold that led officials to deem Lake Nona unsuitable for a final round.
Korda won seven times in 2024 and was shut out in 2025. Now the American is a winner again with a most awkward start to the LPGA season.
She won with an 8-under 64 on Saturday, an astonishing round that was roughly nine shots better than the field average in bitter cold and gusts that approached 40 mph. Korda said it was among the best three rounds she ever played.
That gave her a three-shot lead over Amy Yang, who had two holes left in her third round. But more bitter cold and wind kept the third round from starting until 2 p.m., and a bad forecast for Monday led the LPGA to cancel the final round. Yang went par-par for a 69 to finish second.
European tour
AL MAZROWIAH, Bahrain (AP) — Patrick Reed’s bid for back-to-back victories on the European tour came up just short when he was beaten in a playoff won by Freddy Schott of Germany for his first title.
Reed made bogey at the first playoff hole to drop out of a three-man contest that also included Calum Hill, the former Texas Tech player from Scotland.
The 24-year-old Schott, at No. 436 in the world ranking, clinched victory on the second playoff hole after Hill hooked his drive out of bounds, shanked his fourth shot into water and shook hands with his German rival, who was on the green in three shots.
Reed was seeking a second straight win, after the Dubai Desert Classic last Sunday, to complete a whirlwind week in which he also announced he was leaving LIV Golf with the aim of returning to the PGA Tour. Ten shots behind going into the weekend, he finished 66-67 to get into a playoff.
Korn Ferry Tour
PANAMA CITY (AP) — Ian Holt won the Panama Championship for his second straight Korn Ferry Tour title, closing with a 3-under 67 in windy conditions for a two-stroke victory.
Holt finished at 8-under 272 at Panama Golf Club. The 30-year-old former Kent State player won The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic on Jan. 18 for his first career Korn Ferry victory.
A victory away from an in-season PGA Tour promotion, he’s the first player in the history of the tour to win two of the first three events of a season.
PGA Tour winner Adam Hadwin was second. The Canadian shot 69.
Trevor Cone was third at 4 under after a 71.
Other tours
M.J. Viljoen birdied the final hole for a 2-under 70 and won the SDC Open in a playoff over Dean Germishuys (67). Viljoen won his fourth Sunshine Tour title, and his first when it was co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour in Europe. … Haydn Barron closed with a 2-under 69 to win the Webex Players Series-Murray River for his first title on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
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