JASON’S GLORY DAY IN TORREY PINES
Aussie clinches Torrey Pines title in playoff against Noren
LA JOLLA Australia’s Jason Day sank an 18-inch birdie putt on the sixth playoff hole to defeat Sweden’s Alex Noren and win the US PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open.
Noren found the water with his second shot of the morning while Day placed his third inches from the cup to seal their fates on Monday.
Darkness halted their duel after five extra holes on Sunday at Torrey Pines South Course after each finished 72 holes on 10-under 278.
It was Day’s 11th US PGA victory and his first since the 2016 Players Championship.
“It has been a long time coming,” Day said.
“It’s special because I worked very hard in the off-season to get back in this position.”
The triumph came after Day withdrew from a Wednesday pro-am with back issues that had him wondering if he could even compete after an MRI on his back 10 days earlier.
“I was in Palm Springs and I threw it
(California):
out,” Day said. “I’m always going to try to maintain and be on top of it.”
He found bulging discs that can hit nerves under the stress of shotmaking.
“When they get bigger they get closer to the nerve and I get shooting pains down my legs,” Day said.
“I just have to keep my core strong and hopefully I’m out here battling when I’m 40 or 45.”
The playoff continued at the par-5 18th hole, which both players birdied three times earlier in the playoff. The also parred 16 and 17 once in Sunday’s late-day drama.
On Monday, Day pulled his tee shot well right to begin the sixth playoff hole while Noren found the edge of the short rough left of the fairway.
Noren blasted his second shot onto the raised green but the ball rolled back into a water hazard, prompting Day to leave his second shot short of the water.
“I’m not regretting my decision. It’s just margins,” said Noren, a nine-time European Tour winner seeking his first US triumph.