And in other news …
Yes, Tiger Woods progressed one stroke better (70) than his previous round (71), which was one stroke better than his first round (72) and is 3-under par, tied for 39th entering Sunday’s final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
But of more significance with regard to who will hoist the hardware by day’s end, Alex Noren will take a one-shot lead into Sunday at 11-under par after shooting a third-round 69.
He leads Ryan Palmer (10-under) by one and J.B. Holmes, who had the round of the day at 65, and local favorite Michael Kim (both are 9-under) by two shots. Seven players, including Gary Woodland, Justin Rose, Jason Day and Tony Finau, are at 8-under.
Five players, including defending champion Jon Rahm, who had the most disappointing round of the day with a 75, are 7-under par.
Noren, who was one of the hottest players in the world last year and is ranked 19th in the world, has been an accomplished player on the European Tour, winning nine times on it. But he’s never won a PGA Tour event in the U.S.
“It would mean a lot,’’ he said. “I’ve dreamt of winning on the U.S. Tour. I played college golf over here [at Oklahoma State]. I love playing on the European Tour, and to get a chance to play over here, too, has been amazing. To win would be very, very big for my confidence, I think, and playing around these courses like we’re going to have the U.S. Open here in a few years, so it would be massive.’’
This is the first lead after any round in a PGA Tour event for the 35-year-old Noren, who’s in his first year as a PGA Tour member, which explains how little known he is in the States.
“I’ve been under the radar for most of my career and the last two years maybe been more, you know, more public,’’ Noren said. “All I’m trying to do is play some good golf and my goal is to win a tournament. I don’t care too much if they know me or not. It’s quite nice if they don’t know me. But they’re very nice to me. If you make a birdie, they’re cheerful.
“But I don’t really care. They’re all good people; I like playing here. I know how good the Americans are and they love golf, and then if they know me or not, I don’t really care.’’
One of the prominent names that will be coming at Noren from not far behind is Day, who’s a former winner of the Farmers.
“I am excited about [Sunday],’’ Day said after shooting 71 Saturday. “I’m excited and nervous at the same time. Obviously it’s been a while since [I’ve been] around contention and that obviously brings nerves, and it’s a good thing to be nervous because it means you want it.
“I’m not the only one that’s going to be nervous around that lead so I’ve just got to try and control my emotions. If I can be patient with myself and try and give myself opportunities, hopefully the good breaks go my way and hopefully I’m holding the trophy.’’
Day said he thought 11- or 12-under will be the winning score.
“I picked 13-[under] at the start of the week, but I think if you’re above 10-under you’re doing something pretty good and you’re giving yourself a good chance of winning,’’ he said.
Palmer, who began the day at 11-under and was the 36-hole leader, went slightly backward on Saturday, shooting 73.
“It was a grind,’’ he said. “I struggled. I got a little lazy on my golf swing the last four or five holes. I haven’t been here in a while and I get to play in the final group, so I’m excited. I’ve been here 15 years [and] I’ve been in a lot of situations. I’ve contended at a major, I’ve won three times, so I’ve been here. I can live on those experiences, I think.’’