Justin Rose became the first wire-to-wire winner at Torrey Pines in 71 years, starting with a six-shot lead and never letting anyone get any closer to him Sunday as he closed with a 2-under 70 to win the Farmers Insurance Open.<\/p>\n
Rose opened with a 62 on the North course at Torrey Pines and really never let up all week, playing even better on the South course that has hosted two US Opens. He wound up breaking the 72-hole tournament record at 23-under 265, one better than Tiger Woods<\/a> in 1999. George Burns also shot 266 in 1987.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, T-dub, if you\u2019re watching,\u201d Rose said. That was his only real challenge, smaller goals to keep him pushing \u2013 he wanted to increase his lead each day, and he was aware of the tournament record. He got both. Tommy Bolt in 1955 is the only other player to lead from start to finish without ties at Torrey Pines.<\/p>\n The 45-year-old from England said he would not be complacent, and that much was evident when Rose went out in 33, holing a 35-foot birdie putt on the par-five ninth that turned the back nine \u2013 all day, really \u2013 into what looked like a peaceful walk on the public course along the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n The tournament had one of its best weeks of weather, even by San Diego standards. The only thing lacking was drama, which was just fine with Rose.<\/p>\n This was little more than a battle for second and that was a tie. Si Woo Kim (69), Ryo Hisatsune (69) and Pierceson Coody (66) shared runner-up honors, a consolation prize worth $726,400 (\u00a3531,199). For Coody, it also is likely to get him into a pair of $20m (\u00a314.62m) signature events to end the West Coast Swing.<\/p>\n