This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
Tiger Woods was gone before nightfall Thursday. Phil Mickelson headed for home Friday. And if that wasn't enough - and it surely was, if you were at all connected to the Farmers Insurance Open -- Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson also missed the cut, robbing the tournament of its top four draws.
Television ratings be damned, the annual Torrey Pines tour stop carried on, and on, all the way to a four-man playoff. In the end, the highest-ranking golfer to reach the weekend emerged victorious. Jason Day defeated J.B. Holmes on the second sudden-death hole, after Harris English and defending champion Scott Stallings were eliminated on the first.
Day was fortunate to be there at all, after he flew the green on his second shot to the par-5 18th hole and his ensuing chip stopped on the hazard line inches from the water. He got up and down for par, the last in a series of escapes and great shots on the back nine for him. He closed with a 2-under 70 for a 9-under-279 total.
Somewhat surprisingly, it was just the third PGA Tour win for the Australian, who moved from No. 8 in the world to a career-high-tying No. 4, overtaking countryman Adam Scott. A player ranked so high normally would have many more wins; even more surprising, Day has no other worldwide wins, save a Nationwide Tour title in 2007. He has been snakebit by injuries the last few years, while a series of high finishes in
Tiger Woods was gone before nightfall Thursday. Phil Mickelson headed for home Friday. And if that wasn't enough - and it surely was, if you were at all connected to the Farmers Insurance Open -- Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson also missed the cut, robbing the tournament of its top four draws.
Television ratings be damned, the annual Torrey Pines tour stop carried on, and on, all the way to a four-man playoff. In the end, the highest-ranking golfer to reach the weekend emerged victorious. Jason Day defeated J.B. Holmes on the second sudden-death hole, after Harris English and defending champion Scott Stallings were eliminated on the first.
Day was fortunate to be there at all, after he flew the green on his second shot to the par-5 18th hole and his ensuing chip stopped on the hazard line inches from the water. He got up and down for par, the last in a series of escapes and great shots on the back nine for him. He closed with a 2-under 70 for a 9-under-279 total.
Somewhat surprisingly, it was just the third PGA Tour win for the Australian, who moved from No. 8 in the world to a career-high-tying No. 4, overtaking countryman Adam Scott. A player ranked so high normally would have many more wins; even more surprising, Day has no other worldwide wins, save a Nationwide Tour title in 2007. He has been snakebit by injuries the last few years, while a series of high finishes in majors has allowed him to rack up ranking points. Day won the Byron Nelson in 2010 and the WGC-Match Play last year.
With Woods and Mickelson seemingly no longer factors, Day, 27, very well could be the main challenge to world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, 25. A few others, including Spieth, 21, may have something to say about that. But Day seems primed this year to join the ranks of the major winners.
MONDAY TAKEAWAY
Tiger Woods
Just when things can't get any more turbulent for Woods, they do. On top of the latest what-is-it-now? with Woods, his short-game woes/yips, he suffered another back injury after the fog-delayed start of his opening round interrupted his warmup routine. He winced through 11 holes before withdrawing. In all likelihood, he won't play in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at the end of the month because he has yet to qualify. He's in the majors, but will he be healthy enough? It's looking like another lost year for Woods, if not something more permanent. If you drafted him, my condolences.
Phil Mickelson
More condolences. The only thing keeping the continuing decline of Mickelson from being a bigger story is the continuing decline of Woods. At least Mickelson is healthy. Last year, he did zippo until a runner-up at the PGA Championship. He certainly has the chance to lift his game short-term do something like that again in a major, but would that satisfy Mickelson owners? Of course not.
Dustin Johnson
Johnson returned from a six-month suspension/non-suspension supposedly a new man, not to mention a new father. He missed the cut on the number, not unexpected no matter how hard he reportedly had been working during his absence. Nothing can mimic the conditions of tournament golf, so Johnson is simply going to need reps, beginning this week at Pebble Beach, a tournament he has won twice. I've bought into the new-and-improved-Johnson narrative; I drafted him in the RotoWire League.
J.B. Holmes
Holmes needed a birdie on 18 to win in regulation. But from 235 yards in the fairway, he chose to lay up, later citing a downward lie. Then his wedge third shot from 76 yards didn't spin, leaving him a 19-foot putt for the win. Of course, it didn't go in. Holmes was bidding for his second win in less than a year, after going six years without one. It's sometimes hard to figure Holmes out; he probably lies somewhere near where he finished last year -- 42nd in the point standings.
Scott Stallings
Note to self: Stallings likes Torrey Pines. Stallings has two top-10s since June 2013, and both are in La Jolla, Calif. Stallings won the tournament last year, and just missed this time around. He hit only 48 percent of the fairways for the tournament, but that's too be expected at the very narrow South course and was slightly better than Day. Stallings got progressively better close to the hole, culminating with 1.282 strokes gained-putting. With results like that, it's curious he doesn't contend more often, especially at easier tracks.
Harris English
The former Georgia Bulldog is surely playing more like what's been anticipated of him than he did during a down 2013-14 season. English finished T3 at the Sony Open last month to go with this Farmers runner-up. He was the overnight leader with Holmes but struggled at times with four bogeys. He needed a 72nd-hole birdie to reach the playoff, and he got it. It's time to feel better about English again.
Charles Howell III
One of the hardest working men in golf -- the Farmers was his ninth event of the season already -- Howell turned in the round of the day on Sunday, a 4-under 68. For a while, it looked like it might get the early finisher into a playoff, but he missed by one. The Augusta native is still vying to get into the Masters field, but is running out of time and has made the field only once in the last six years. He hasn't won a tournament since 2007. But as far as a fantasy option, he certainly has a place in almost all formats.
Sand saves: Alex Prugh tied for fifth, his best showing since 2010. If you're thinking of picking him, take a pass. ... Spencer Levin, who fulfilled the conditions of his major medical extension in fall, began the final round a shot off the lead but faded to a 4-over 74, just missing his second top-10 of the season. He's 59th in the point standings and appears to be on the rise. ... Padraig Harrington stood at 5-under through 22 holes after an eagle on No. 13 on the South course on Friday, then proceeded to play his final 14 holes in 9-over to miss the cut by a lot. The three-time major champion has made only two of six cuts and no longer appears to be a fantasy option. ... Heralded former Stanford star Patrick Rodgers, who didn't make a dent on the PGA Tour last year, finally showed some of what's been expected of him, winning the Web.com Tour's Colombia Championship in Bogota in a playoff over PGA Tour veteran Steve Marino. They both bear watching.
