Justin Rose threatened to run away from the field Saturday in the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open, but settled for a commanding six-stroke lead over Joel Dahmen after shooting a 4-under 68 that set another tournament record.
“You walk off like thinking maybe it could have been lower, you know,” said Rose, who led by eight shots midway through the round. “You never want to say that after a 68 at Torrey or, obviously, being in the position that I’m in, but, yeah, I played really, really well today. Like I thought that was the round of the week from tee to green, anyway.”
Rose’s 54-hole total of 195 broke the tournament record of 198 he shared with Kyle Stanley (2012), Tiger Woods (2008) and Woody Blackburn (1985). Rose did it when he won the Farmers in 2019.
Rose opened the Farmers with a 62 on the North Course, one stroke off the 18-hole record. He set the 36-hole record (127) Friday with a second-round 65 on the South.
Rose is positioned now to set the tournament record, needing a 70 on Sunday to finish at 23 under. Tiger Woods (1999) and George Burns (1987) share the record at 22 under, though that was before the South Course’s 2001 redesign.
One more historical mark within Rose’s grasp: a victory would make him the tournament’s first wire-to-wire winner since Tommy Bolt in 1955.
Rose began the third round with a four-stroke lead at 17 under and picked up right where he left off. He birdied five of his first 10 holes, briefly getting to 22 under while building an eight-stroke advantage, before back-to-back bogeys at the 11th and 12 holes.
Rose steadied himself with a birdie at the 619-yard, par-5 13th hole, then balanced a bogey at 16 with a birdie at 18.
The last putt offset a birdie on 18 by Dahmen, who also shot 68.
Rose might be comfortable with his six-stroke advantage, but he’s not going to get complacent.
“There’s never going to be any complacency,” said Rose, 45, whose victory in the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship made him the only player in his 40s to win last year. “You know, I think there’s always enough respect for the game of golf in the back of your mind that you’ve got to do everything right tomorrow.
“You’re going to come out, have to be focused, have to play well. Obviously, somebody can always really shoot a great round, and therefore, you’ve got to get around this golf course in a pretty decent score. Yeah, that’s the mentality. I kind of have to just control what I can control from the first hole.”
Rose and Dahmen will be joined in the final group Sunday morning by Ryo Hisatsune (68), who is tied for third with Si Woo Kim (69), eight strokes behind Rose. Max McGreevy (71) is another stroke back in fourth place, followed by a three-way tie for sixth place 10 strokes off the lead. Among those players tied for sixth is Stephan Jaeger, whose 65 was the low round of the day.