Theegala Shines Again With Top-10 At Torrey Pines

SAN DIEGO, CA-Sahith Theegala concluded another impressive week on the PGA Tour with his second straight Top-10 finish. Meanwhile, Justin Rose delivered a dominant, record-breaking performance, winning the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines by seven shots.

Theegala delivered a brilliant final round of 6-under 66, marked by four consecutive birdies in the middle of his round. He finished with a total score of 14-under 274, tying for seventh place, after tying for eighth last week at the American Express. His closing round included seven birdies and only one bogey, demonstrating increasing consistency and momentum early in the season.

Starting steadily, Theegala birdied the first and third holes before suffering his only setback of the day with a bogey at the fourth. He then energized his round with four consecutive birdies from the seventh to the tenth, often sinking putts from 10 to 15 feet. After six straight pars, he gained another shot on the 17th and finished with a confident par on the final hole. Theegala now shifts focus to next week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, buoyed by two solid performances in a row.

Sudarshan Yellamaraju closed with a 72 to finish tied for 56th, while Akshay Bhatia endured a disappointing week and missed the cut.

At the top of the leaderboard, Rose was clearly in a league of his own. The 45-year-old Englishman sealed a wire-to-wire victory with a final 2-under 70, finishing at 23-under 265 and surpassing Tiger Woods’ 72-hole record from 1999. Rose’s four rounds — 62, 65, 69, and 70 — came during one of the calmest weather weeks at Torrey Pines, but his winning margin underlined the quality of his performance.

No challenger came within six shots on the final day, and Rose calmly made a par putt on the 18th to seal his win. His victory was notable as the first wire-to-wire win at Torrey Pines in 71 years, since Tommy Bolt in 1955, and marked his 13th career PGA Tour title. It was also his second victory at the course, having previously won here in 2019.

Si Woo Kim (69), Ryo Hisatsune (69) and Pierceson Coody (66) shared runner-up honors, finishing well adrift of the runaway leader.

Brooks Koepka, making his return to the PGA Tour, carded a closing 70 and was greeted by loud cheers on the ninth green as he tapped in for birdie, with several hundred fans chanting, “Welcome back, Brooks.”

Rose’s remarkable week also propelled him to World No. 3, making him the second-oldest player to reach that ranking, behind only Vijay Singh in 2008, a testament to the former U.S. Open champion’s late-career surge. (IANS)