Tiger Woods outdrives Justin Thomas and lets him know about it

SAN DIEGO — Justin Rose overcame a few nervous moments early in the final round with enough key putts down the stretch for a 3-under 69 to hold off Adam Scott and win the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday. Rose, the defending FedExCup champion, had a three-shot lead shrink to a single shot when he opened with three bogeys in five holes, and Jon Rahm made birdie on the par-5 sixth. Rose answered with a bold play on the next hole for a short birdie, restored his lead at the turn and then kept in front of Scott, who birdied his last four holes for a 68. Rose finished at 21-under 267 for a two-shot victory, becoming the first player since Peter Jacobsen in 1995 — when the South and North courses at Torrey Pines were 700 yards shorter — to post all four rounds in the 60s at this event. “The offseason was short and sharp,” Rose said. “I didn’t know how I was going to come out. It’s awesome to play that well this week.” He won for the 10th consecutive year worldwide, including his gold medal at the 2016 Olympics. His 10th victory on the PGA TOUR gave him the most of English players, breaking a tie with Nick Faldo. “He’s the No. 1 player in the world, and he’s showing why,” Scott said. “Even when he was a little off, he kept it together.” Scott, making his debut at this tournament, didn’t make a birdie until the ninth hole and missed a 20-inch par putt on the front nine. He was flawless on the back, however, and kept the outcome in doubt until the end. Rose holed an 8-foot par putt on No. 15 with Scott in tight for birdie to keep his lead at three shots. On the par-3 16th, Rose holed a 30-foot birdie putt, and then Scott rolled in his birdie from 20 feet. Scott pulled within two by hitting his approach to a foot on the 17th. Scott badly missed the fairway on the par-5 18th and had to lay up from a bunker, and Rose stuffed his wedge into 3 feet to wrap it up. The Australian figured he lost his best chance on the front nine, when Rose was dropping shots and he couldn’t make a move. “Just was a little shaky and I wasn’t solid tee-to-green,” Scott said. “He never really was under much pressure. By the time I got it sorted out, it was too late.” Hideki Matsuyama closed with a 67 and tied for third with Talor Gooch, who shot 68. Gooch, who finished fourth last week in the Desert Classic to get into this event, earned a spot in next week’s Phoenix Open. He is playing this year on conditional status. Rahm was never a factor after pulling within one shot with that birdie on No. 6, which turned out to be the only one he made all round. He shot 72 and tied for fifth with Rory McIlroy (69) and defending champion Jason Day (67). Tiger Woods had to settle for his own version of winning. Starting the final round 13 shots behind, Woods wanted to get into double figures. He birdied his last two holes for a 31 on the front nine to shoot 67 and finish at 10-under 278. Rose failed to convert a 54-hole lead in the BMW Championship late last year in Aronimink, and he had a 3-6 record on the PGA TOUR when leading going into the final round. He struggled with his swing early, missing tee shots to the right and missing the green from the fairway on No. 5, and his putter looked shaky. But he delivered big birdie putts on No. 7 and No. 10, short-game shots that took stress off his putter on consecutive holes on the back nine. He won with a new set of clubs having signed an endorsement deal with Japan-based Honma. Rose also won without his regular caddie, Mark Fulcher, who had a heart procedure last week. Rose used Gareth Lord, the former caddie of Rose’s longtime Ryder Cup partner, Henrik Stenson.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – If Dustin Johnson started at No. 1; Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth want to get back to No. 1; and Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas and Spieth actually could get to No. 1, then by the law of hypothetical syllogism and the transitive property… Oh, never mind. After copious No. 1 chatter at THE PLAYERS Championship, Thursday’s first round suggested the new No. 1 might end up being the same as the old No. 1. Johnson used a new putter and a new putting method to shoot 66 and seize the early lead with Sweden’s Alex Noren and 2012 U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson. “It was definitely a big deal to get there,â€� Johnson said of the top ranking, which he could lose to Thomas (73), Spieth (75), Rose (68) or Rahm this week. “And it’s a big deal to stay there, I think. Yeah, I mean, I like being No. 1, so I want to stay there.â€� Defending champion Si Woo Kim and late addition Keith Mitchell, who got into the field when Paul Casey withdrew, were part of a foursome at 67, one shot back after the morning wave. Johnson, though, was the talk of the morning. His 66 was his best by two at TPC Sawgrass, where he was averaging 72.43 coming into this week. He hit nine of 14 fairways, 17 of 18 greens in regulation, and made six birdies and no bogeys. It’s rare to categorize a world No. 1 as a surprise leader, but Johnson has looked wobbly here since he shot a second-round 80 to miss the cut in his first PLAYERS in 2008. His recent results on TOUR weren’t exactly encouraging, either. He looked lost in going 0-3 at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, and was never really in contention at the Masters (T10) and RBC Heritage (T16). The culprit, he said, was his inability to make anything on the greens, and indeed the fact that he holed over 111 feet of putts Thursday was a happy surprise. Using a new TaylorMade putter and the Aimpoint green-reading technique for the first time, he finally capitalized on his ball-striking. “I felt like at Augusta and Hilton Head I was hitting a lot of good putts that were not going in the hole,â€� Johnson said. “I needed to figure out something. I still feel like I read the greens really well. It’s helped with getting a definite spot to putt at, where I want the ball to start. I felt like today we read ’em all really well. There were no surprises.â€� As for all the talk about his tenuous position atop the Official World Golf Ranking, that was another matter. When Rickie Fowler won here in 2015, much of the buzz was around a player poll that tagged him as overrated. Fowler obliterated all that with his clubs. Did all the No. 1 chatter get to Johnson? Was his opening statement here a reminder not to write him off too soon? He said no. “I don’t care what people talk about,â€� Johnson said. “It doesn’t bother me. I want to play good golf.â€� Rory McIlroy (71) has been to No. 1, and said he’s been impressed with how long Johnson has held onto the top spot. “I think he’s done a great job because I feel it’s harder to stay there than it is to get there,â€� said McIlroy, who lost the No. 1 spot to Spieth in the summer of 2015. Rose, one of the four who could take over in pole position if everything breaks his way this week, found himself leaderboard-watching Thursday but quickly diverted his attention away from the No. 1 ranking as Johnson piled up the birdies. “I thought I better play well this week to not go miles behind him again,â€� Rose said. Johnson’s coach, Claude Harmon III, with whom Johnson worked at the Floridian last week, said that while Johnson may downplay it, the laconic, 33-year-old South Carolinian had heard the No. 1 speculation concerning himself, Thomas, Rahm, Rose and Spieth. “Absolutely,â€� Harmon said. “There are not a lot of people walking around who have gotten there, and if you’re lucky enough to get a chance to get to No. 1, then you always want to stay there. D.J. is far more competitive than people realize. “It’s certainly something that drives him,â€� Harmon added. “One of the weird things in golf right now is that he’s the No. 1 player in the world, and there are so many other stories right now that he doesn’t really get talked about. Sometimes that works in your favor; you can just do what you do and let your clubs do the talking.â€� So far, so good for Dustin Johnson, whose clubs said it all Thursday.

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AUSTIN, Texas — It’s time to shuffle up and deal. With the Round of 16 set at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, PGATOUR.COM’s Jonathan Wall ranked the 16 players left in the field based on current form and how they’ve fared after three days of play at Austin Country Club.  1. Alex Noren, Sweden: Last year’s quarterfinalist has trailed for just two of the 48 holes he’s played this week. Took out an in-form Tony Finau by making big putts down the stretch, including a 14-footer on the last to close it out. Leads the field in strokes gained: putting and has recorded just one bogey this week. Don’t forget he already has a runner-up (Farmers Insurance Open) and third-place (The Honda Classic) finish this year.  Next opponent: Patrick Reed.  2. Justin Thomas, USA: Looks like a completely different player after only winning one match the last two years. Hasn’t trailed this week in 48 holes and has form on his side with a win and runner-up finish in his last two starts. Match play is a different beast, but Thomas hasn’t skipped a beat this season.  Next opponent: Si Woo Kim 3. Patrick Reed, USA: Reed’s match play pedigree alone is enough to rank him inside the top-3. Went undefeated in group play and downed Jordan Spieth to make the knockout stage. Hasn’t advanced beyond the Round of 16 since the event went to a round-robin format in 2015, but he’s peaking at the right time.  Next opponent: Alex Noren.  4. Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Thailand: Looks right at home in his second appearance and has only trailed for one hole (out of 49) this week. Was victorious earlier this year at the World Super 6 Perth that features a match play final round. Defeated last year’s Match Play runner-up Jon Rahm to advance.  Next opponent: Charles Howell III 5. Ian Poulter, England: Thrives on the pressure of match play. Poulter’s return to the Odyssey mallet he used to win the 2016 Ryder Cup has fueled an impressive run that’s seen him win all three of his matches before the 18th hole.  Next opponent: Louis Oosthuizen 6. Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa: The 2016 runner-up advances to the knockout stage for the third time in four years. Ranks sixth this week in strokes gained: putting while recording 15 birdies. Made it through a tough group that included Jason Day, Jason Dufner and James Hahn.  Next opponent: Ian Poulter 7. Sergio Garcia, Spain: Has embraced the windy conditions at Austin Country Club. Leads the field in birdies (18) and ranks second in strokes gained: off the tee. Posted a spotless 3-0-0 record despite trailing after nine holes in all three matches.  Next opponent: Kyle Stanley 8. Bubba Watson, USA: Moves on to the knockout stage for the second straight year. Battled from 2-down with three holes to play to earn a halve against Julian Suri to advance. Game seems to be clicking on all cylinders since his Genesis Open win. Has the creativity to deal with the blustery conditions.  Next opponent: Brian Harman 9. Matt Kuchar, USA: Kuchar needed just 14 holes to defeat Ross Fisher on Friday in a must-win situation. Qualified for the knockout stage for the second time in the last three years. Only player in the field who recorded a hole-in-one this week.  Next opponent: Kevin Kisner 10. Charles Howell III: Ended all three matches before the 18th hole while going 3-0-0 in a group that included Phil Mickelson and Rafa Cabrera Bello. Second consecutive year he’s made the Round of 16 despite recording just eight birdies.  Next opponent: Kiradech Aphibarnrat 11. Si Woo Kim, Korea: THE PLAYERS Championship winner gets a red-hot Justin Thomas after getting through Group 15. Tends to play well on Pete Dye golf courses. Has yet to trail in the 51 holes he’s played. Recorded 15 birdies so far this week.  Next opponent: Justin Thomas 12. Cameron Smith, Australia: Smith has gone the distance in all three of his matches this week. Made it out of the group stage in his first Match Play appearance. Next opponent: Tyrrell Hatton 13. Kevin Kisner, USA: Trailed for just two holes in the three matches he’s played. Ranks fourth in driving accuracy. Defeated Dustin Johnson to move to the next round.  Next opponent: Matt Kuchar 14. Brian Harman, USA: Defeated Rory McIlroy to make the Round of 16 in his first Match Play start. Faces another fellow left-hander in Bubba Watson.  Next opponent: Bubba Watson 15. Kyle Stanley, USA: Two of his three matches went the distance. One of the best ball-strikers on the PGA TOUR, Stanley has the game to give Sergio Garcia a tough match.  Next opponent: Sergio Garcia 16. Tyrrell Hatton, USA: Recorded the fewest birdies (6) of any player who advanced. Managed to move on despite leading for only four holes (out of 32) in his last two matches.  Next opponent: Cameron Smith THREE MATCHES TO WATCH Alex Noren, Sweden vs. Patrick Reed, USA Based on the way Noren and Reed have played, this feels like a championship match. Both moved their way through group play without losing a match and have been making big putts when it counts. Expect a tightly contested battle that likely goes down to the last hole.  Bubba Watson, USA vs. Brian Harman, USA The former Georgia Bulldogs square off in a match between the only left-handed players remaining in the field. Harman comes in with six top 10s in his last 10 starts while Watson recorded a win last month at the Genesis Open. Given their current form, it’s difficult to pick a favorite between these two. Watson obviously has the length advantage, but Harman was able to take out Rory McIlroy on Friday with relative ease.  Justin Thomas, USA vs. Si Woo Kim, Korea Neither player has trailed at any point this week, so something has to give. Thomas is playing like the second-ranked player in the world this week and disposed of Francesco Molinari without breaking a sweat during their winner-take-all match. Kim has the game to hang with Thomas, but he’ll need to make sure it stays tight on the front nine. If Kim has something going for him, it’s that he seems to play his best golf on Pete Dye courses. 

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