Late birdies fuel English rally

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Harris English rattled in a hat-trick of birdies on the closing three holes to grab a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in southern California on Friday.

The 35-year-old from Georgia, chasing his first PGA Tour win since victory at the Travelers Championship in 2021, carded a six-under-par 66 to move to nine under for the tournament through 54 holes.

After the chaos of Thursday, when strong gusts halted play and sent scores soaring, calmer conditions marked a return to normalcy for Friday’s third round at the picturesque course overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

English, who had struggled to a one-over-par 73 on Thursday, took full advantage of the lull in winds to compile a round that contained seven birdies and only one bogey.

A 20-foot birdie putt on the 16th started his late charge, and he moved into a share of the lead on the 17th when his 170-yard second shot from a fairway bunker left him with a seven-footer for birdie.

English saved his best for the par-five 18th, hitting his third to within three feet before tapping in the birdie to claim sole possession of the lead.

“Had some really good numbers on those last three holes and sometimes you’ve just got to be aggressive when you have really good numbers,” English said.

“It’s nice to finish like that, some good momentum heading into tomorrow.”

Leading the pursuit of English on Saturday will be Andrew Novak, the 29-year-old from North Carolina who is still yet to enter the winner’s circle after four years on tour.

Novak carded a bogey-free 66 comprised of six birdies and 12 pars to move to eight under for the tournament.

Novak’s round gathered steam with a run of four birdies in five holes starting at the ninth on Torrey Pines’s south course, including a brilliant chip-in from the greenside rough on the par-five 13th hole.

He then finished his round — and grabbed the solo lead after coolly rolling in a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th green.

Novak said he is unfazed by the possibility of a nervy finale on Saturday.

“I’ve been nervous a lot of times playing golf, it’s just part of it,” Novak said.

“You just have to step up and hit the golf shot. It’s going to come down to that tomorrow.”

Aldrich Potgieter is in third place on seven under after carding a five-under-par 67. The 20-year-old South African’s round included a spectacular eagle two on the par-four 12th where he holed out from 173 yards.

Germany’s Matti Schmid, South Korea’s Lee Kyoung-Hoon, Joel Dahmen and Lanto Griffin are tied for fourth on five under, four off the lead.