Justin Rose looks to have one hand on the Farmers Insurance Open trophy after stretching his lead through three rounds at Torrey Pines.
It has been an impressive few days from Rose, who opened with a blistering 62 on Thursday and has not looked back since.
He heads into the final round six shots clear of Joel Dahmen, having steadily increased his advantage as the tournament has gone on.
Meanwhile, those tied for ninth are already 11 shots back. They will need some help from Rose if there is going to be any late drama.
Justin Rose discusses his unusual third round at the Farmers Insurance Open
There might be a bit of hope for those chasing, with Rose carding his highest score of the week so far, even though it was still a 68.
The 45-year-old had only one bogey across the opening two rounds but dropped three shots on his back nine.
Even so, he told Golf Channel that the numbers did not quite match how he felt about his play.
He explained: “Yeah I weirdly feel like I actually hit the ball better today. I almost felt like I played better today, but obviously there were putts that slid by the edges. The first couple of days I made pretty much everything I looked at, versus today a couple of reads were a little bit off.
“But the greens, they got a little more crusty on the back nine as well, so it wasn’t like you wanted to be too positive with them and have that three, four feet coming back either.
“Listen, I played great today and was delighted with the round, enjoyed it. And obviously, the back nine, it’s not exactly windy, but once the wind kicks up to that 10mph, it definitely gets your attention.”
Justin Rose showing elite ball striking at Torrey Pines
Data Golf highlighted just three players who gained more than three shots on the field with their approach play during the third round, and Rose was one of them.
He topped the list, picking up 3.7 shots in that area alone.
But it is worth noting that Rose was the only one of those three who also gained shots off the tee.
It is impressive how he continues to play at such a high level this late into his career.
He had already made a statement earlier in the season with a strong showing at Pebble Beach ahead of the 2025 Masters. And this week, he is reinforcing that form, looking once again like a player to watch when Augusta National rolls around for the year’s first major.
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