Patrick Reed easily held off the field at Torrey Pines Golf Course Sunday for his first win at the Farmers Insurance Open.
He outpaced the five golfers tied for second by five shots. That group included Xander Schauffele, the San Diego State alum, who enjoyed his best finish at the Open.
Schauffele shared second with fellow Americans Tony Finau and Ryan Palmer, along with Viktor Hovland of Norway and Henrik Norlander of Sweden.
Schauffele shot a 3-under 69 to in the final round. He also had Saturday’s only bogey-free round, shooting a 4-under 68 to put himself in contention.
He had missed the cut four of the previous five times he played in the Open and tied for 25th in two years ago.
Reed logged a 4-under 68 in his final round, a day after a free drop on the 10th hole raised questions, though it was later noted that Rory McIlroy had a similar experience on the 18th. Reed was 14-under for the tournament.
The 2018 Masters champion said he had a rough start to the day.
“It was kind of shaky there early on in the beginning, kind of a couple shots that seemed to kind of get a little bit away from me. But I was able to rely on the short game early and get in a groove there in the middle of the round,” he told the Associated Press.
Schauffele tweeted that he was “happy with a runner-up finish in my hometown event,” but also was outspoken about the controversy over Reed, saying he would not “create a situation like that.”
“He’s protected by the (PGA) Tour and that’s all that matters, I guess,” he said.
Carlos Ortiz, tied with Reed for the lead following Saturday’s play, had a disastrous round, shooting 6-over 78, with seven bogeys and one double-bogey, according to AP. He dropped all the way to a tie for 29th.
San Diego native Phil Mickelson finished 1-over for the tournament, as did Rickie Fowler of Murrieta. Kyle Mendoza of Oceanside finished at 3-over, and Pat Perez, a Torrey Pines High product, at 4-over.
Hovland, with a one-shot lead over six golfers, shot a 1-over-par 73 Saturday, with two bogeys and two birdies on the front nine and two bogeys, a double bogey and three birdies on the back nine. He finished Sunday with a 1-under 71.
Jon Rahm, second on the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest in the field, won the tournament in 2017. He finished in a tie for 7th at 8-under.
– Staff and wire reports
