Rose, who won at Torrey in 2019, started the third round with a four-shot lead and quickly pulled away with a stunning three-hole stretch on the front nine of the South course.
He hit a pitching wedge on a back pin on the par-5 fifth hole to 6 feet. He hit a 5-wood from 252 yards to about a 30-foot pin-high on the par-5 sixth for a two-putt birdie. And then he took another tight flag over the bunker at No. 7 to 5 feet.
Rose hit some loose shots early on from the back to give Seamus Power and Joel Dahmen some hope. After two straight bogeys, he pulled his 3-woods on the par-5 13th into the rough below the green. Since he could only see the top of the flag, he threw it out and it rolled in at the right pace to make birdie.
Rose was at 21-under 195. It was the second-largest 54-hole lead of the tournament behind the eight-shot lead Woods had in 2008. Woods practically owned the public course along Pacific Bluff with eight professional victories, including the U.S. Open.
Power did his best to stay in range until three straight bogeys put him well out of contention. Dahmen finished strong for a 68 and was in second place, even though it feels like he’s leading the B flight.
But it’s a big lead for Dahmen, who finished outside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup the year they cut the entire Cards from the top 125. He is on conditional status and only got into the Farmers Insurance Open because two courses allowed for a larger field.
He has also been given a sponsor exemption for the WM Phoenix Open next week, so it is a good time to help turn his fortunes around. A strong Sunday would do wonders.
Meanwhile, Rose continues to enjoy what he once called his “Indian Summer.” At the age of 45, he was the oldest player on Europe’s winning Ryder Cup team for seven years. Even when asked – if Luke Donald turns down a third captaincy – Rose said last week his focus would be on playing in the 2027 Ryder Cup.
A win would take him to No. 4 in the world rankings. No one has lost a lead of more than five shots at Torrey Pines, although Rose was once the beneficiary of a stunning collapse from Dustin Johnson in Shanghai. His work is not done.
Brooks Koepka played a solid round in his return to the PGA Tour from the Saudi-funded LIV Golf, short putts aside. He turned a 10-foot par putt into a double bogey at the par-3 11th, and had a 10-foot birdie putt into a bogey at the par-5 ninth, his final hole that led to a 73.
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