Luke List birdied the first playoff hole to beat Will Zalatoris in the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday (HKT), claiming his first PGA Tour title in his 206th start. List, 37 and ranked 151st in the world, delivered a sensational final round on the South Course at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, where his seven birdies included four in a row on the front nine and a 13-footer for the clubhouse lead at the 18th. His 1-under par 66 put him at 15-under 273, and he had to wait a tense two hours to see if he’d be caught, with Zalatoris, former world No 1 Jason Day and current No 1 Jon Rahm leading the charge. Luke. List. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/cMwENFUcGI — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 30, 2022 “It feels unbelievable,” List said. “I’ve worked really hard and to just have my family here means the world to me, so my daughter could see that. It’s all worth it for this moment.” Zalatoris, who started the day tied with Day for the lead, fired a 1-under 71, moving to 15-under with birdies at the fifth and sixth and then parring his last 12 holes. Despite an errant tee shot at the 72nd hole he had an 8ft putt for birdie and the win, but it ran out of steam and he and List headed back to the 18th tee to open the playoff with the light already fading on the California coast. Both found the right fairway bunker off the tee – their balls nestling inches apart. Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho to face world’s best at Asian Tour opener in Saudi Arabia Both blasted out into the fairway and from there List’s masterful approach hit the green and curled toward the cup, leaving him a birdie putt from a foot away. “I was just hoping for a playoff, and once I got that opportunity I just said, you know what, like I’m going to birdie this playoff hole whatever it takes,” List said. “Then I walked up and my ball’s plugged and I said I’m still going to make birdie. I was super pumped.” He tapped it in, putting the pressure on Zalatoris, whose putt – similar to the one he faced in regulation – did no t threaten the hole. “It was a lot of fun,” said Zalatoris. “I fought like hell all day.” With darkness falling “fast,” Zalatoris said, he had to “rely on past history” on the playoff hole. “I really couldn’t see much in terms of the read, but I’m not even that disappointed with that part. I made three pars on 18 this week, and that’s just not going to get it done.” Day had moved to 15-under with a spectacular eagle at the par-4 14th, where he holed out from 118 yards out in the fairway. But he bogeyed 16 and 17 before capping his round with a 10ft birdie at the par-5 18th to finish in a tie for third with Rahm and Cameron Tringale. South Korea’s Sungjae Im continued his sold start to the season, carding a final round 71 to finish in a tie for sixth, his first top-10 at the event in his fourth start. It was also his fourth top-10 of the season, which includes a victory, and keeps him in third place in the FedEx Cup standings.
