Jan 28, 2018 4 min read

Jason Day and Alex Noren went 77 holes in the Farmers Insurance Open, and it still wasn’t enough to decide a winner.

Day holed a 6-foot birdie putt in the dark on the fifth hole of a sudden-death playoff Sunday. Noren followed with a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole at Torrey Pines. They had no choice but to return Monday morning to decide the longest playoff in the 67-year history of this event.

They each made birdie three times on the par-5 closing hole in the playoff. They made pars on the 16th and 17th holes, with Day having the best chance to end it on the par-3 16th until his 12-foot putt stayed on the right edge.

Ryan Palmer began the playoff with them at 10-under 278. He was eliminated with a par on the 18th on the first extra hole.

Day closed with a 2-under 70. Palmer hit wedge to 2 feet for birdie for a 72 to get into the playoff. Noren had a 12-foot birdie attempt in regulation to avoid the playoff and narrowly missed.

By then, Tiger Woods was long gone.

It was the third playoff in three weeks on the PGA Tour, all of them lasting at least four holes. And while it was entertaining, thousands of fans weren’t around to see it. They left after Woods finished his round. In only his second PGA Tour event since August 2015, Woods closed with a 72 and tied for 23rd, seven shots out of the lead.

Woods said it was a mostly positive week, and it was hard to argue considering he was returning from his fourth back surgery. He at least was closer to the fairway in the final round, but hit only three fairways for the third straight day.

“I got a lot out of my rounds,” Woods said. “The short game wasn’t something I was worried about. I knew what I could, what I’ve been doing at home. That wasn’t going to be an issue. It was going to be, ‘Can I shoot low scores?’ I didn’t, but I grinded out some good rounds.”

The final hour of the tournament was a big grind.

Day, Noren, Palmer and J.B. Holmes – the latter three in the final group – were tied for the lead with six holes to go.

Day twice missed the green with a short iron in his hand, and one of those shots led to bogey. He didn’t make a birdie on the back nine in regulation. Noren appeared to have the steadiest game until he pulled his tee shot into the hazard on the 14th hole and did well to escape with bogey. Noren also made a pair of 7-foot par putts to stay in a share of the lead, and then he missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole in regulation.

Palmer, trying to win for the first time in eight years, made consecutive bogeys from the bunker on No. 14 and short of the 15th green. He came up big on the 72nd hole with a wedge to 2 feet to get into the playoff.

Lincicome leaves field in dark: Brittany Lincicome beat darkness – with help from floodlights Sunday on the Ocean Club’s 18th green – to win the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic for the second straight year.

Lincicome birdied the final two holes and four of the last five for a 7-under 65 and a two-stroke victory over Wei-Ling Hsu in the event cut to 54 holes after wind wiped out play most of Friday.

Lincicome completed a second-round 67 in the morning, playing nine holes in 3 under, to begin the final round two strokes behind top-ranked Shanshan Feng.

The 32-year-old Lincicome won her eighth career title. The Pure Silk ambassador finished at 12-under 207. Last year, she beat Lexi Thompson in a playoff.

Hsu closed with a 68. Feng had a 71 to tie for third with Amy Yang (70) at 9 under. Thompson (71) was 7 under with Danielle Kang (68), Nelly Korda (69) and Bronte Law (69). Brooke Henderson, the leader Saturday night when play was suspended because of darkness, shot a 72 to finish ninth at 6 under.