From day one, Justin Rose led the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour, breaking a Tiger Woods record at 45 years old.
At 45, Justin Rose left his competition no chance at the Farmers Insurance Open of the PGA Tour. He won with a seven-stroke lead and a tournament record of 23 strokes under par at Torrey Pines. From the beginning, he had firm control of the tournament lead and set new scoring records after every round.
PGA Tour: Justin Rose claims victory with tournament record
In the final round, a 70 was enough to secure his comfortable win. The Englishman pulled further ahead with three birdies on the front nine; on the back nine, he made only one bogey on the 12th but still had a sufficient cushion to not worry. Instead, he focused on breaking the tournament record of 22 under par, last set by Tiger Woods in 1999. “That was the only thing I focused on in the last three holes,” Rose said afterwards.
“The fact that I could extend my lead every day is something I’m proud of as a player, because it shows I managed the pressure well from start to finish and kept improving,” Rose said at his winner’s press conference. “Maybe that’s something I hadn’t achieved before, and I’m very satisfied with it.”
While his golf game was nearly flawless, Rose credits his mental strength for the success. “I was very disciplined this week. Of course, I played well, but I managed my game smartly, was patient at the right moments, and made key putts to compensate for small mistakes. There was a lot of true mental maturity from a strategic golf perspective.”
Stephan Jäger finishes in top 5
With Rose unreachable at the top, the rest battled for second place. Pierceson Coody gained 12 positions with a 65, the best round of the day, sharing second place with Si Woo Kim and Roy Hisatsune. Right behind them, Stephan Jäger finished T5 with 15 under par. With a 68 in the final round, he secured a strong result. After missing the cut at the American Express, this is a positive sign for the new year and his best finish since the Sony Open in January 2025.
Brooks Koepka closed the tournament with a 70, ending at T56 and completing his first week back on the PGA Tour. He noted that half the players were unknown to him after the changes over the last four years. “Half the guys I know, the other half I don’t. It’s going to be an exciting year to get to know everyone, and I’m looking forward to it,” Koepka said after the event.