The ups and downs of Harris English’s compelling career took another leap forward Saturday, withstanding the tough Torrey Pines conditions to win the Farmers Insurance Open for his fifth PGA Tour victory.
Six years ago, English lost full PGA Tour status. Less than four years ago, he was No. 10 in the world and starring on a winning U.S. Ryder Cup team. And by the end of 2024, he was back outside the top 50, fighting to regain a place in signature events.
A winner at Torrey Pines 🏆@Harris_English earns his fifth TOUR title @FarmersInsOpen! pic.twitter.com/4AAJ1KykU3
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 26, 2025
But this week in San Diego — playing in conditions so windy the tour had to delay the second round — English found himself in a battle for stability with Andrew Novak and Sam Stevens at the top of the leaderboard. English entered the final round as the solo leader at 9-under with Novak one back. As English approached the sixth hole Saturday, he was 2-over through five holes and two back of the new leader Novak. But this was not one of those weeks for trying to catch the leader. It was about holding your ground.
English bounced back with a birdie on 6 as Novak bogeyed his next two holes to switch places. From there, English parred his next 12 holes to maintain while Novak ultimately fell from 9-under par to 6-under to finish third. Stevens took solo second at 7-under.
It was a field without many top stars, as top players Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy all sat it out for varying reasons. Rising star Ludvig Åberg had the 36-hole lead while playing through an illness, but the 25-year-old Swede quickly fell off Friday and Saturday and finished T42.
The Farmers gives English his third win since 2021, elongating his late career boom that began in 2020. English came up as a top prospect from Georgia, winning a Korn Ferry Tour event as an amateur before falling outside the top 300 players in the world by 2019. Then, English broke through during the pandemic to qualify for the Tour Championship, and in 2021, he won two premier events — the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Travelers Championship — while finishing third at the U.S. Open.
That U.S. Open happened to be played at Torrey Pines South Course, where English won Saturday.
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(Photo: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)
