Weekly PGA Recap: Put Some English On It

This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.

Not only was the ratings-challenged trio of Harris English, Andrew Novak and Aldrich Potgieter in the last pairing for the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open on Saturday, they needed a mind-boggling 5 hours and 29 minutes to traverse the 18 holes at the Torrey Pines South Course.

English was the last man standing after a week of difficult weather conditions to win at 8-under-par, one stroke better than hard-charging Sam Stevens.

Yes, it was windy for the final round on Saturday, which impacts pace of play, though it was nothing like Round 2 on Thursday, when play had to be suspended for a bit. And yes, Torrey Pines is uber-long, but were there 5:29 rounds in past years?

It's a good thing tournament was played Wednesday-Saturday to avoid the NFL playoffs, because no one would've been watching this otherwise.

With all the talk about slow play making golf being hard to watch on TV, this was Exhibit A. Who would even want to watch Tiger Woods for 329 minutes straight, much less English & Co.?
  
Somehow, it doesn't appear English was asked about pace of play in his post-tournament session with reporters. But on the CBS broadcast, Dottie Pepper did not mince words, echoing the sentiments of many golf fans and others in the golf community.

The PGA Tour now has to be wondering what will happen when they return to Torrey in three weeks for the displaced Genesis Invitational. They might want to make the course tougher for a signature event, but they also can't have a 5:29 repeat, even with a far better field filled with bold-faced names.

We're not going to solve the pacing issue today, so let's move on and give English his due.

This was his fifth career win and first since 2021 at the Travelers, after which he was ranked No. 12 in the world. In 2022, English had hip surgery and, while he had had some moments in the interim, he was ranked 75th in the OWGR. He had had only eight total top-10s in the 3 ½ years since that Travelers.

English bogeyed two of his first five holes on Saturday, then birdied the sixth before parring out the rest of the way. In the conditions, that was plenty good.

The Tour will now come back in three weeks, what with Riviera an unsuitable spot for the Genesis after the California wildfires. English has to be on everyone's radar, especially since he was runner-up to Jason Day at the 2015 Farmers, also in tough conditions, and solo third at the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey.

"I'm excited. I was hoping they would choose this course to come back to," said English, who will move up to No. 34 in the world in the next rankings. "I'm looking forward to it. Obviously, I love Riviera, that's one of my favorite golf courses. I've had a good bit of success there and hate what has happened in the Palisades and kind of around L.A. We all hate to see that, but I think you're going to see a lot of PGA Tour support for L.A. and those affected in the wildfires. We're excited about coming here and playing this again."

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Sam Stevens
The unheralded Stevens turned in the best showing of his brief PGA Tour career with the round of the day at Torrey Pines, a 4-under 68, which was five strokes better than English. But he was coming from just too far back. And, needing a birdie on 18, he found the water though still managed to save par. Still, the runner-up got him in the Aon Swing 5 and into this week's signature event at Pebble Beach. 

Stevens was already a very solid player off the tee and on the greens. His approach play last year was woeful, ranking him close to 150th on Tour. This season, obviously in a small sample size, he's 15th on Tour in Approach, which portends well.
 
Andrew Novak
Novak had some very good weeks on Tour last season, coming close to winning multiple times. For a while over the final two rounds, it appeared he could get that first win. But after a third-round 66, he was eight strokes worse on Saturday. All things considered, hanging on to solo third was not bad. Novak will also be in the field at Pebble.

Sungjae Im
Im shot four rounds of par or better in a very solid tournament. He didn't really contend for the title, even while tying for fourth. Of the few big names in the field, Im was the best, and he continues a strong stretch dating back to the middle of last year.
 
Kris Ventura
The former Oklahoma State teammate of Viktor Hovland (and Stevens), Ventura turned in his best showing on Tour in tying for fourth. However, as someone ranked 325th in the OWGR and never having done a whole lot as a pro, don't expect this to be some sort of turning point in his career.

Hayden Springer
Continuing down this star-studded leaderboard, the 184th-ranked Springer finished solo sixth in his first start of 2025. In 26 starts last year, he missed 13 cuts. But he also had four top-10s, so maybe Springer is good for a few more of them in 2025.

Taylor Pendrith
Pendrith was among only two players who finished top-10 that also ranked top-70 in the OWGR. He tied for seventh and, with his T13 at the Sentry, is off to a solid start to the season.

Will Gordon
A couple of years ago, Gordon appeared to be a riser. But he faltered, got injured and was ranked outside the top 500 in the OWGR entering the week, now playing via a major medical extension. His tie for seventh will go a long way in regaining his card.
 
Danny Willett
Willett had plummeted into the 600s of the OWGR and hadn't had so much as a top-20 anywhere in the world in almost two years. Naturally, he tied for ninth at the Farmers.

Joel Dahmen
Dahmen retained his card for 2025 by the skin of his teeth, finishing 124th in the point standings. Only 100 will get cards for 2026, so Dahmen will need more weeks like this one, when he tied for ninth. He missed the cut in his first two starts.

Keegan Bradley
The Ryder Cup captain continues to play like a Ryder Cup-caliber player, tying for 15th.

Luke Clanton
The college amateur tied for 15th, giving him a fifth top-15 showing in just 10 starts. Under the PGA Tour University Accelerated program, Clanton gained one point and now needs two more to secure his card and, presumably, turn pro. On Thursday, that appeared to be a near-reality.

Aldrich Potgieter
The 20-year-old South African is the youngest member on Tour, having graduated from the Korn Ferry. He was in the thick of things after a third-round 67. But Potgieter ballooned to a 78 and wound up T15.

Hideki Matsuyama
The highest-ranked player in the field, Matsuyama tied for 32nd after shooting a final-round 76.

Jason Day
Day, who has had so many good weeks at Torrey, tied for 32nd.

Ludvig Aberg
Aberg led for about half the tournament but fell apart after an opening 63. He shot 75-74-79 to end up T42.

Jackson Koivun
The 19-year-old Auburn freshman made the cut and tied for 56th. Like Clanton, he got one point and needs two more under the PGA Tour University Accelerated program to earn his card.

MISSED CUTS

Tony Finau, Aaron Rai, Shane Lowry, Si Woo Kim, Kurt Kitayama, Justin Rose, Austin Eckroat, Matthieu Pavon, Max Homa. The only real surprise was Finau, who has been a top-10 machine through the years at Torrey Pines. … Pavon was the defending champion but has been playing poorly for some time. … Homa actually withdrew on Thursday while heading for a missed cut. His game is a mess with no signs of getting cleaned up.