Farmers Open Goes to a Playoff; Tiger Goes Home Encouraged

It's not like everyone got what they wanted, but as the Stones sang, they got what they needed.

• The Farmers Insurance Open got a surge in crowds;
• The final round produced a three-way tie for first;
• The playoffs are gonna extend to Monday; and
• Tiger Woods played consistently for the entire tournament.

Dude had a hella lotta two-shot sequences like this:

 

It gave him extended practice in getting outta trouble, and he had to be encouraged by the fact that -- more often than not -- he did.

While Woods was displaying his rarely acknowledged propensity for grinding, the tourney's leaders were making their own cases for shaping shots under pressure.

All except ball-stallin' JB Holmes, that is, but karma had already struck. Dude was outta the leading group.

Finally, the title chase gets the spotlight all to itself.

• Jason Day is seeking his first tour victory since 2016, and
• Alex Noren is trying to earn his first tour victory, period.

And for the record, here are the highlights of Tiger's fourth round:

 

Dude's flair for the dramatic is back, too.

Tiger managed to show twice in the event's top five shots:

 

So, it seems dude's worked his way back to being average on the PGA tour.

And that's a complement.