The organisers would have no doubt hoped that the biggest draw in the game (with a 'nod' to Rory McIlroy of course), one Eldrick "Tiger" Woods, had survived until the business end of the Farmers Insurance Open. However, what they did get on the final day of action was a dramatic finish that required a four-man play-off to decide the winner. It was the Australian Jason Day who eventually came out top of the pile, when he made par on the second extra hole.
Woods' back problems may have diverted some of the interest away from the tournament, but there was still plenty for the watching spectators to savour and enjoy about the golfing action they saw.
Day had looked likely to have missed out on the play-off completely, when he slightly misjudged his chip from off the green at the 18th hole during his final round. He thought that his ball had rolled into the water hazard, as it went out of sight, and asked where he had to drop from. Instead, his ball stopped just short of the water to offer him a reprieve, which he gladly accepted to get up and down to save par.
He admitted that fortune was smiling on him afterwards: "When you win golf tournaments, you have to have a little bit of luck and that was my luck."
Day had battled well during the last eighteen holes to make his way into the play-off, with a strong round of two under par (70), including a couple of long birdie putts and a smart save after being plugged in a bunker on the back nine.
Two men were eliminated on the first play-off hole, when they re-played the par-5 18th, as Harris English and the defending champion Scott Stallings fell by the wayside. That left Day and J.B. Holmes to battle it out for the first prize.
The two players moved on to the par-3 16th, where Day played the more solid hole to leave his ball 15 feet from the pin, while Holmes fired his shot over the green and could only bogey.
The win was Day's third PGA Tour victory of his career and moved him up to 4th in the world rankings. In doing so he became top Australian for now, as he edged compatriot Adam Scott down a place. McIlroy leads the way though, well clear of the rest.
