SAN DIEGO — Two feet away from chipping into the water, Jason Day turned a good break into a big win Sunday in the Farmers Insurance Open when he won a four-man playoff with a par on the second extra hole at tough Torrey Pines.
Day’s gamble in regulation looked as if it might backfire when he went long off the green on the par-5 18th. His chip out of deep rough raced down the hill, over the front of the green and was headed for the water when it stopped at the hazard line. He got up-and-down for par and a 2-under 70.
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Day and J.B. Holmes each made birdie on the 18th in the playoff, while Scott Stallings and Harris English were eliminated with pars. On the second extra hole at the par-3 16th, Holmes went over the green, chipped to 15 feet and missed the par putt. Day hit 5-iron to 15 feet and made par for his third PGA Tour victory.
Day moved to No. 4 in the world, just ahead of Adam Scott, and became the top-ranked Australian for the first time.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Day said. “I’ve been working so hard for this. I was visualizing myself holding the trophy, just like I did at the Match Play (Championship). I’m really proud of myself to hang in there and grind it out.”
Day’s decision on the 18th in regulation wasn’t the only choice that was second-guessed. Holmes, needing a birdie to win, laid up from 235 yards in the fairway and narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie attempt. He closed with a 72.
It was only the second stroke-play victory on the PGA Tour for the 27-year-old Day, who is in his eighth year on the tour. Loaded with talent, the Aussie has been hampered by more injuries than he cares to remember. Even when he won the Match Play Championship last year in Arizona, he was playing with an injured wrist that kept him out of every tournament except the Masters for the next three months.
His health was a big priority this year, and so was winning.
“It’s a good start to the year,” Day said. “Hopefully, I can stay healthy.”
The 16th was pivotal for Day twice. In regulation, he holed a 50-foot birdie putt to get back into contention.
Day was among seven players who had at least a share of the lead on a Sunday that was more about survival than a shootout. It was the first time that a single-digit score under par – 9-under 279 – won on the PGA Tour since Justin Rose (4-under 276) at the Quicken Loans Nationals last June.
LPGA: South Korean rookie Sei Young Kim won the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic for her first LPGA Tour title, holing an 8-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff with countrywoman Sun Young Yoo and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn at Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Kim, 22, shot a 1-under 72 in the completion of the delayed third round and closed with a 68 to match Yoo and Jutanugarn at 14-under 278 on Atlantis Resort’s Ocean Club course.
Kim birdied the par-5 18th in regulation and won the playoff with her birdie on the hole.
Yoo finished with rounds of 69 and 70, and Jutanugarn shot 70-69.
Brittany Lincicome was third at 13 under after rounds of 68 and 70.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Paul Goydos closed with a birdie for a 3-under 69 and a one-stroke victory over Gene Sauers in the Allianz Championship at Boca Raton, Florida.
Goydos chipped to a foot from behind the par-5 18th green and tapped in for his second victory in 12 career starts of the 50-and-over tour. He won twice in 507 starts on the PGA Tour.
On a wild day at Broken Sound where nine players had a share of the lead at some point, Goydos finished at 12-under 204 to claim the $255,000 first prize.
Sauers birdied his final two holes for a 67. Fred Funk (66) chipped in for eagle on the final hole to tie for third at 10 under with John Huston (66) and 2014 winner Michael Allen (67).
EUROPEAN TOUR: India’s Anirban Lahiri shot a 4-under 68 to beat Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger by one shot in the Malaysian Open at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Starting the day five shots behind Wiesberger, Lahiri carded six birdies and two bogeys to finish at 16-under 272.
Ranked 73rd heading into the event, Lahiri will move into the world’s top 40, putting him in position to qualify for the Masters.
Wiesberger held a two-shot lead over Spain’s Alejandro Canizares heading into the final round, but the Austrian faltered, carding a two-over 74 to finish second.
Canizares also shot 74 and tied for third with England’s Paul Waring (73).
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