PGA Tour: Scott Stallings wins the Farmers Insurance Open
Scott Stallings shot a four-under 68 in the final round to win the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open. He started the day three back of the lead, and outlasted a bunched leaderboard to claim his third victory on the PGA Tour. The win gives Stallings a two-year exemption, and an invitation to the Masters.
With as many as six players tied for the lead on Sunday, it looked as if the tournament was headed for a playoff. However, Stallings emerged from the pack with a birdie on 18 to claim sole possession of the lead at nine-under. Marc Leishman had the best chance to tie him in the final group, but his 99-yard wedge shot ended up four feet from the hole.
Stallings relied on his short game to win the tournament. He hit four fairways and 12 greens, but only needed 25 putts in the final round. Stallings credited his putting coach, David Robinson, with giving him a tip that held up well when it mattered most. Robinson is a mini-tour player who currently caddies for Blake Adams.
Stallings also credited moving to Scottsdale to work on his game during the winter. In Scottsdale, he had the opportunity to play everyday, and practice with fellow Tour pros, “I played an unbelievable amount of golf with Richard Lee and Josh Teater this off season…I probably played with them almost every day, and it’s nice to be with guys who do what you do.”
Third round leader Gary Woodland was tied for the lead for most of the round, but he hit his tee ball into the hazard on seventeen, and made double-bogey to drop to six-under total. He said, “This will be hard to swallow. I felt like I kind of gave one away today.”
Jason Day made a bogey on 17 that dropped him to seven-under. His eagle putt on 18 had a chance, but failed to go down. Day finished tied for second after a final round 68.
Marc Leishman, Pat Perez, Graham DeLaet, K.J. Choi, and Jason Day all tied for second place at eight-under. Choi was the first player to post eight-under after shooting a 66. DeLaet played in the same group as Day, and equaled his score of 68. Perez made a costly bogey on 16, but finished with a birdie to post a 70.
Interesting fact: Web.com Tour rookie Justin Thomas shot 69 to finish T10 at six-under. Jordan Spieth stumbled coming in with three bogies on his final four holes to shoot 75 for the second straight day. Spieth finished T19 at four-under. Thomas left Alabama to turn professional in October 2013. He and Spieth are good friends, and will be battling at tournaments for years to come.
Link to leaderboard.