A look inside Chris Gotterup’s mixed bag

SAN DIEGO – Torrey Pines is not always kind to a front runner. FedExCup champion Justin Rose remains the player to beat in the Farmers Insurance Open but if he is aware of recent history at the iconic coastal course he might sleep a little restlessly. England’s Rose fired a 3-under 69 Saturday to move to 18-under 198 and set up a three-shot lead over his good friend Adam Scott. The Australian set the South course alight on Australia Day no less, posting a tournament low 7-under 65 on the tough track to get to 15 under. Spain’s Jon Rahm – the 2017 champion at Torrey Pines – is third after a 68 left him four off the pace, setting up a stellar final threesome of ball-striking machines. While Rose has been producing a clinic from tee-to-green for the most part this week the chasers are buoyed with life after a sloppy bogey on the final hole of his third round. Especially as Tiger Woods is the only 54-hole leader to win in the previous 10 Farmers Insurance Opens and of the other nine winners’ six started Sunday at least three off the lead. Even still Scott used a veteran tactic on his friend and said the tournament is Rose’s to lose. “It’s almost all up to him tomorrow, so that’s no pressure on me,â€� Scott said. “He’s just playing too good. He’s done that right from Thursday. He’s the No. 1 player in the world, he’s played well for over two years. He’s feeling it. He wants to take advantage of all of his good golf and that’s why he’s running away with this thing. “The good news is it’s only one person out in front, so it all sits on his golf club tomorrow. This is not a course I can go out and just fire at pins, it’s too easy to make big errors. I’ll just have to chip away and we’ll see if he can do the same.â€� MUST READS: Round 3, Farmers Insurance Open ‘Everything’s fine’ between Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed Tiger cards third-round 71 at Torrey Pines Sponsor invite Doug Ghim is in contention sitting solo fourth Rose and Scott live close to one another in the Bahamas. They’ve battled against each other for a couple of decades. When told of his friends’ comments Rose broke into a smile. “Of course he does (say that). He’s deflecting from himself,â€� Rose grinned. “I don’t think so. If you’re five or six ahead, then yeah … but I expect Jon and Adam to come out and play well tomorrow … One of those guys is capable of something in the mid 60s. “It’s going to take a good round of golf tomorrow to get this done.â€� Rahm does not need to look far in his memory bank for form at Torrey Pines. When he won two years ago the Spaniard burst out of a condensed leaderboard with a blistering finish. The now two-time TOUR winner went six under on his last eight holes with two eagles and two birdies to annihilate the competition and win by three. He doesn’t intend to need such an effort Sunday, instead targeting a front nine assault to apply some pressure. “You’ve got to understand, besides No. 10, 11 through 18 are really, really difficult holes,â€� Rahm says. “The back nine at Torrey Pines is no joke. The fact that I shot 6 under a couple years ago, it’s a borderline miracle. It’s very hard to do that again. I’ve just got to keep hitting good shots and put it in the fairway and be patient … I just need a chance going to the back nine.â€� Rose not only has to battle the tournament history but his own as a frontrunner. He has converted just four of his 15 54-hole leads on the PGA TOUR. He let Keegan Bradley overrun him at the BMW Championship during last season’s FedExCup Playoffs. “It’s going to be a lot more strategic tomorrow,â€� Rose added. “It’s going to be a tougher test. Today I think the pins were quite gettable. Tomorrow it won’t be as much. “Clearly, if you miss the tee shots here you can run into trouble really quick, so I would say there’s a lot more going on tomorrow with a three‑shot lead in a different type of venue.â€�

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Reigning FedExCup champion Justin Rose will make his first PGA TOUR start of the 2019 calendar year and his first here since 2010 at this week’s 60th playing of the Desert Classic in La Quinta, California. Defending champion Jon Rahm, meanwhile, seeks to become the first back-to-back winner since Johnny Miller (1975-’76). Arnold Palmer won the first Desert Classic in 1960, his first of 62 TOUR titles. He also won for the last time there, in ’73, as the tournament bookended one of the most celebrated careers in the history of the game. The Desert Classic is one of four tournaments played on multiple courses, along with the Farmers Insurance Open, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and The RSM Classic. The Golf Channel will carry primetime coverage starting at 11:30 a.m. ET Thursday and Friday, running until 7 p.m. each day. Watch on Twitter from 11:30 a.m. to approximately 12:30 p.m. PGA TOUR Radio’s coverage is 1-7 p.m. in the first three rounds; 2-7 p.m. for Sunday’s final round. PGA TOUR LIVE also returns for 2019 with expanded coverage. Here’s a look at some of the Featured Groups (current FedExCup ranking in parentheses): THURSDAY Russell Knox (181) – A two-time TOUR winner, Knox is coming off a season in which he was 89th in the FedExCup. He finished T43 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Jhonattan Vegas (128) – Pride of Venezuela broke through with his first win in the desert way back in 2011, and has since tacked on two more victories, both at the RBC Canadian Open. This will be his first start since he finished T38 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November. Round 1 tee time at PGA WEST Stadium Course: 11:40 a.m. ET (8:40 a.m. local) Chesson Hadley (24) – He didn’t play in Hawaii, but in five starts this season he already has a T2 (CIMB Classic) and T7 (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open). Bill Haas (83) – A former FedExCup champion (2011) and Desert Classic winner (2015), Haas is one of four players in the last five years who have won this tournament and gone all the way to the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake. Round 1 tee time: 12:10 p.m. ET off 1 at PGA WEST Stadium Course (9:10 a.m. local) Justin Rose (40) – This will mark Rose’s fifth start in the Desert Classic, but his first since 2010, when he missed the cut. As with most other courses on TOUR, though, the Englishman has enjoyed plenty of success here: 3rd in 2007 and T10 in 2006. Zach Johnson (100) – He slipped to 58th in the FedExCup with just two top-10 finishes in 25 starts last season, and is coming off a missed cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The good news: He finished T7 not long ago, at The RSM Classic in the fall. Round 1 tee time at La Quinta Country Club: 11:40 a.m. ET (8:40 a.m. local) Phil Mickelson (136) – World Golf Hall of Famer and two-time Desert Classic winner is coming off a season in which he broke a lengthy win drought at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. Making his 16th start in the desert. Finished T17 at the Safeway Open last fall. Aaron Wise (60) – Rookie of the Year in 2018, when he won the AT&T Byron Nelson, Wise is making his third start in the Desert Classic. He won the NCAA individual title as a freshman at Oregon in 2016, and played the Mackenzie Tour and Web.com Tour before making it to the big TOUR. Round 1 tee time: 12:10 p.m. ET off 1 at La Quinta Country Club (9:10 a.m. local) FRIDAY Charles Howell III (5) – One of the great comeback stories of 2018, when he won The RSM Classic at the outset of the ’18-2019 TOUR season, Howell looks to keep the momentum going after finishing T8 at the Sony Open in Hawaii and T14 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Sean O’Hair (185) – Trying to get back on track after a rough start to the season with three missed cuts in five starts. Round 2 tee time: 11:40 a.m. ET off 1 at PGA WEST Stadium Course (8:40 a.m. local) Brendan Steele (116) – Three-time TOUR winner hasn’t played since a missed cut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in the fall, but he did finish T14 at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. Jason Dufner (122) – Has played a robust early schedule with seven starts already, best among them a T21 with a final-round 64 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic last fall. Round 2 tee time: 12:10 p.m. ET off 1 at PGA WEST Stadium Course (9:10 a.m. local) Phil Mickelson/Aaron Wise Round 2 tee time: 11:40 a.m. ET off 10 at PGA WEST Nicklaus Tournament Course (8:40 a.m. local) Justin Rose/Zach Johnson Round 2 tee time: 1:20 p.m. ET off 10 at PGA WEST Nicklaus Tournament Course (10:20 a.m. local).

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