List wins playoff against Zalatoris
Taps in for birdie for 1st Tour title
Luke List earned his first PGA Tour victory with a birdie on the first playoff hole at Torrey Pines Saturday in La Jolla, Calif., holding off Will Zalatoris well after sunset to win the Farmers Insurance Open.
List began the final round five shots back of leaders Zalatoris and Jason Day, and had to wait nearly two hours after closing with a 6under 66 to see if he had a shot for the first win in a career that began in 2013.
Zalatoris couldn’t secure his own first career victory when he barely missed an 8foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th, forcing a playoff. After both players rescued their errant playoff tee shots from a fairway bunker, List spun an exceptional 131-yard approach shot to within a foot of the cup.
After List tapped in and Zalatoris missed his 13-foot birdie putt, List celebrated in the gloaming with his wife, Chloe, while he held their daughter, Ryann.
“She’s been telling me for a long time, ‘Daddy, I want a trophy,’ and I finally got one,” List said after breaking through in his 206th tour start.
Zalatoris and List finished regulation at 15-under 273, setting up the fourth playoff in the past 11 years at the Farmers. Zalatoris shot a nervy final-round 71, finishing with 12 consecutive pars.
Zalatoris, last season’s rookie of the year and Masters runner-up, will lament his final shot of regulation. The 8-footer left his putter straight, but slowed and hopped abruptly to the left in the final inches.
Top-ranked Jon Rahm, Jason Day and Cameron Tringale finished a shot back at 14 under, and Justin Rose was in a group of five players two shots back.
List joined Rahm as the only players to earn their first career wins at the Farmers Open.
McIlroy makes move
Rory McIlroy moved within two shots of leader Justin Harding after the third round at the Dubai Desert Classic as the Northern Irishman tries to win the event for the third time.
McIlroy shot a 3-under 69 to get to 10 under overall at the tournament he won in 2009 and 2015. He closed the gap on Harding, who maintained his halfway advantage with a 71 at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“It would be nice to get another win, especially here in Dubai,” the No. 8-ranked McIlroy said. “I’ve just got to go out there [Sunday] and try to play a good round of golf and hopefully it’s good enough.”
Ko keeps LPGA lead
Even as the exams change, Lydia Ko continues to provide the proper answers needed to stay in front at the Gainbridge LPGA in Boca Raton, Fla. Ko opened with a 63 when conditions were prime for scoring. When temperatures dipped into the 40s on Saturday and the wind was a steady 15-20 mph with gusts as high as 33 mph, Ko was asked to survive the day. She showed she can do that, too.
Her even-par 72 at Boca Rio — one birdie, one bogey, 16 pars — gave her a twoshot lead over Danielle Kang (74) heading into the final round of the LPGA Tour’s first full-field event of the year. Ko was at 11-under 205.
Celine Boutier of France had the low round Saturday of 69 —arguably the best round of the young LPGA season — and climbed into contention. She was three shots behind.