Choi, Brown tied for lead after 3rd round at Torrey Pines
K.J. Choi one-putted his last six holes Saturday to salvage an even-par 72 and a share of the lead with Scott Brown going into a final round at the Farmers Insurance Open that seems to have everyone nervous.
The biggest threat might be a forecast of high wind and big rain, and tee times were moved up as early as possible to try to avoid it.
Inside the ropes, the final round figured to be wide open with 16 players separated by three shots.
Choi was headed the wrong direction until he made a pair of birdies, saved par on three straight holes and then hit wedge to 3 feet on the par-5 18th for one last birdie that allowed him to join Brown at 9-under 207.
Brown, whose lone PGA Tour victory was nearly three years ago in Puerto Rico, would not seem to be a candidate to thrive on the South Course at Torrey Pines, the longest on the PGA Tour and a U.S. Open site. But he managed to keep it in play, which is key no matter how far anyone hits it. He had a 70 and goes into Sunday with a great chance to win and earn the Augusta native his first trip to the Masters.
Jimmy Walker, already a winner on two other California courses, was the anomaly. He couldn’t seem to keep it in play off the tee by hitting only three fairways and still managed to gouge enough shots out of the rough and hole enough putts for a 68 that put him one shot behind.
Gary Woodland, tied with Choi going into the third round, birdied his last hole for a 73 to join Walker at one shot behind.
Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler each missed the cut, though Torrey Pines still has a local favorite to cheer. That would be Michael Kim, the Cal grad who went to Torrey Pines High School and grew up watching Mickelson and Tiger Woods win here. Kim had a 70 and was among four players at 7-under 209.
Another shot back was a group that included Dustin Johnson, who didn’t make a birdie until the 13th hole and still managed to limit the damage to a 74.
Choi hasn’t won since The Players Championship in 2011, which gave him a five-year exemption that ends this year.
Hull, Nordqvist share lead in Bahamas: Charley Hull and Anna Nordqvist shared the lead in the season-opening Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, and Ha Na Jang had the first hole-in-one on a par 4 in tour history.
Hull made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th to match European Solheim Cup teammate Nordqvist at 12-under 207 in breezy but calmer conditions at the Ocean Club. The 19-year-old Hull, from England, had a 4-under 69. Nordqvist, from Sweden, also birdied the 18th for a 68.
Waynesburg’s Rachel Rohanna shot 5-over 78 that included a quadruple bogey 7 on the par-3 No. 3. She is 80th place at 7-over for the tournament.
“It’s a little different because, obviously, it’s been really windy, so I got used to playing in that wind.” Hull said. “And today the first couple holes I think I was allowing too much of the wind and there wasn’t that much up there.”
Jang made the albatross on the eighth hole, at a mere 218 yards playing at a distance normally considered a par 3. Her 3-wood shot into light wind landed a yard in front of the green and rolled in.
“I don’t see the ball finish, but my dad was, ‘Oh, you made it,”‘ Jang said. “It’s unbelievable. Amazing.”
She was disappointed that she didn’t win a car.
“A new car, please. A car, please,” Jang said. “I wanted a car. I need a car.”
The South Korean player was five strokes back after a 68.