Sam Ryder's a creature of habit, Jon Rahm hot on his heels for third straight win and No. 1 and Tony Finau takes advantage of new life among takeaways at Farmers Insurance Open

SAN DIEGO — Sam Ryder is looking to win his first PGA TOUR title in his 147th appearance. Behind him is the hottest player in the world, Jon Rahm, looking to his fourth straight win in the last 25 years. Behind Lahm are five players who have competed in the Presidents Cup. No big deal for riders when they want to find the winner's circle for the first time. But Rider knows that to be the best, he has to beat his best opponents, and he's up for the challenge. "That's what we want in the end, isn't it? That's why we play," he said. "I can't replicate that anywhere in my work, so it's just exciting and fun."

Ryder finished Friday at the Torrey Pines South Course where he hit par on the straight of 12, hitting an even par 72 and 12 under par to beat Cream by two shots. Ryder started the day with him leading by three strokes, but in the second he took a three-putt, leading many he saw the player come a little closer to the lead. Ryder scored the only birdie on his par-5 6th hole, and in this week's scrambling he remained solid when he missed the 9-of-10 green. "I'm very happy overall," he said. "A head start for him to start the day and a head start for him to finish the day, I'm pretty happy with it."

Ryder says he is a creature of habit and started playing baseball at a young age.

"We're a very superstitious bunch, baseball players. If it ain't broke, we don't fix it that way," he explained. I remember where we were, we were in the same seat at the bar. I won't go to that level. It's nice to have the same feeling. You cannot control the weather, conditions, tee times, etc. If I could control my surroundings as much as possible, you would be a little more comfortable. ”

He may not be sitting on the same bar stool, but he ate the same meal every day at Urban Plates, a restaurant he described as "semi-healthy." And what is his favorite food?

"It was just a small chimichurri steak, sweet potatoes, broccoli and rice. It's super easy," he said, adding that he washed it down with sparkling water.

The rider has a big challenge in the final round, but he said he won every level. "It's next on the list," he said. "Whether it's tomorrow or soon, I think it's going to happen at some point. I'm just trying to enjoy the trip and the rides and all that as much as possible."

Jon Rahm sat down to conduct an interview with CBS's Amanda Renner and said, "It wouldn't have been the Farmers Insurance Open without Jon Rahm's interview. You're my first interview every year." .

What's unspoken is the fact that Rahm has always been a favorite at Torrey Pines. It was here that Rahm won his first Tour title in 2017, and from six starts he has five Top 10 finishes in the event. He also won the 2021 US Open on the South Course. He has few better days than Friday, and No. Going 6-9 at 5-under-par, they embarked on the competition after a slow start. Rahm opened the top nine at 31 and improved to 10-under, two behind the riders en route to 66. After his first 31 holes of the event he played one over, Rahm caught fire and his next 23 holes he played 11 under.

"I did everything I could in the last 23 holes of the tournament that gave me the chance," he said.

His highlight on Friday was his ninth eagle on a 620-yard par 5, making it the first farmer since 2017. it was high. "It's already a candidate for shot of the year for me. I fought that second shot a million times," he said. It wasn't what you'd expect in a backpin, but I put myself in a great situation and made a putt."

Rahm couldn't escape talk of a third straight victory.

"I heard a lot of people saying 'three lines, three lines' while driving down the fairway," Rahm said.

He isn't too worried about the possibility of regaining the No. 1 title in the world. A win would see him return to his top spot in the Official Golf World Rankings for the first time since March 26, 2022. He could also do it as runner-up or solo third at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour (last Monday), depending on where World No. 1 Rory McIlroy finished.

"If so, I really didn't care. I'm going to get the chance to do great things. It doesn't matter if I'm number 1 or 2 or 3 in the rankings. It's going to be very, very special." would," he said.

After Tony Finau finished his third round with the Farmers, his wife and several children greeted them with what he called a "merry dance."

"We love to dance and every time something good happens, they love to dance, so they celebrate their little victories with me," Finau explained.

He had good reason to boogie after Finau shot the low rounds of the day, posting a tournament-high with an 8-under 64.

"I liked everything. It's hard not to like it," Finau replied when asked what he liked about his rap. “The first few days the putter was quite cold and not very comfortable, but with some setup tweaks it rolled much better today and putts from close range showed that.”

Finau had to drop numbers on Thursday as he had to birdie on the 9th hole of the North Course, his 36th hole of the tournament, but 12 at bats and he finished with a T-54 He fell from 19 players) to 4 strokes and was third. We are aiming for the 4th victory in the last 10 tour starts. He also booked a spot in the final group with Jon Rahm and leader Sam Ryder.

"Reducing numbers is almost like new life," Finau said.

Finau started on the back nine on Friday and added four birdies on the front nine before adding an unexpected eagle at first with a pitching wedge from 136 yards on the par 4.

``I landed in the middle of the runway with a slight flying pull and a perfect hit, and it spun into a hole. Finau said, "At that time, I was worried about the round kind, and the juice started to flow a little."