Harris English uses a late birdie blitz to grab the Farmers Insurance lead

SAN DIEGO — Harris English has been to Torrey Pines before, so the feeling was familiar when he made it late in the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open.

If he can make it through one more round, he will have a good chance of winning one of his favorite courses.

English finished his 6-under 66 with three straight birdies on Friday, taking a one-shot lead over Andrew Novak’s 9-under 207 heading into the final round.

English capitalized after Torrey Pines’ strong winds eased and the South Beach resort returned to picture-perfect weather, making three birdies in four holes before turning and adding four more to his final six holes. The four-time PGA Tour winner holed his 131-yard third shot to within 3 feet on the 18th, and went outside for 54 holes.

“I’ve played this place for a long time, I feel like I know where to miss, where to be aggressive and where to be patient,” said English. “I feel like I picked my spots really well today, and it’s great when you see the putts go in.”

Although English has nine top-10 finishes in the past two seasons, he has not won since 2021, when he survived an eight-hole playoff with Kramer Hickok at the Travelers Championship.

But he’s comfortable at Torrey Pines: He went four ways at the Farmers in 2015 before losing to Jason Day, and finished third at the US Open held at the San Diego course in 2021.

“Winning in a place like this would be huge,” said English. “It’s one of my favorite places, and the list of winners here is amazing, so I love being in the mix.”

Novak also shot a 66, but got out of the bogey and held the lead until English fell to the front thanks to his big finish. South African Aldrich Potgieter was 7-under 209 after a recent display of his incredible power in the dream, while Joel Dahmen, Lanto Griffin, Matti Schmid and KH Lee were beaten by the English four in a tournament that he has played a part in. to electrify the last day’s rallies.

A large group of players had to finish their second rounds on Friday morning after strong winds forced an 86-minute delay on Thursday and affected the scores throughout. It was a bit windy on Friday, although the wind is expected to pick up again on Saturday.

The Farmers Insurance Open started on Wednesday and ends on Saturday to avoid conflict with the NFL conference championship games on Sunday.

Potgieter, a promising 20-year-old who leads the tournament in driving distance, birdied three par-3 holes and eagled the par-4 12th. He holed out 173 yards with an 8-iron, celebrating with his hug.

“Par 3s are probably not my strength outside of pars, but I was hitting the ball a lot better today,” Potgieter said. “Especially on those holes, I put myself in good spots to cover putts.”

Potgieter became the youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history last year. He battled the wind to 76 on Thursday, but got better with the weather.

So did Novak, who buried a 20-foot birdie on the 18th. Novak is chasing his first win in his fourth season on tour, and he’s a big fan of Torrey Pines, even if his career results don’t show it.

“You want to win, and whenever you want something, you can put pressure on yourself,” Novak said. “There will be nerves [Saturday]. You know, I went through Q-school. I’ve been sweating getting out of line. It’s all just feelings. I have been nervous many times while playing golf. It’s just part of you. You have to go up and hit the golf ball.”

English and Novak should have fun in the final group on Saturday: Both live in St. Simons Island in Georgia.

Ludvig Åberg, who led after each of the first two rounds, dropped to 4-under 212 after shooting a 75 while looking sick during his round. Aberg may have caught the same bug that affects many players in the locker room, and hit only eight greens in regulation in the third round.

World No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama is at 3-under 213 after shooting 70.