PGA TOUR: Stroud grinds his way to closing 73
Published 9:33 pm Sunday, January 27, 2019
Grinding was once again the name of the game for Chris Stroud on Sunday in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Stroud hit only 3 of 14 fairways and just 9 of 18 greens but managed to walk away with a one-over-par 73. That left him at four under 284 for the week and in a tie for 52nd place. He collected $16,557 but managed to move up only five places to No. 198 in FedEx Cup points.
World No. 1 Justin Rose, despite a shaky start that saw him two-over through five holes, rallied for a closing 69. His 72-hole total of 21-under 267 was two shots clear of Adam Scott. Scott played the weekend at 11 under shooting rounds of 65-68.
As was the case Saturday, Stroud gave himself precious few birdie opportunities. Playing the back nine first, he didn’t make his first birdie until his 11th hole when he rolled in a 15-footer. By that time, however, he was three-over. He did make birdie on his final hole, sinking a 3-footer on the par-5 ninth.
Stroud did manage to improve on an 0-for-4 bunker showing Saturday, getting up and down out of the sand two of three times. The Port Neches-Groves ex also managed to hang in by making par putts of 12 and 16 feet.
The other Lamar ex in the field, Shawn Stefani, closed with a 75 and finished two shots back of Stroud at 286.