Farmers Insurance Open 2015: Day 4 Leaderboard Results and Twitter Reaction

A jam-packed leaderboard created an excellent finish to the 2015 Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday at Torrey Pines Golf Course.     

Overnight co-leaders J.B. Holmes and Harris English endured roller-coaster outings, allowing the likes of Jason Day and defending champion Scott Stallings to reach nine-under and force a four-man playoff. 

Pars at the 18th hole knocked English and Stallings out of the running after the first extra hole. Then Day wound up topping Holmes with a brilliant tee shot to the par-three 16th.

An adrenaline-infused six iron from Holmes airmailed the green, and Day followed up in spectacular fashion, forcing Holmes to get down in two to have any chance.

A misread birdie effort beset Day for a moment, but Holmes missed his par before Day tapped in for the win.

Day is breaking, if you will.

It marks Day's third PGA Tour victory, and he'll move to No. 4 in the world rankings. The latter number is more indicative of Day's standing in the game of golf; the hardware should only continue to pile up.

Golf Channel's Jason Sobel reported what Day said afterward, when he credited last year's win over Victor Dubuisson in the WGC match play event in helping him triumph on Sunday:

A couple of golden opportunities for Holmes to win in regulation preceded the playoff. His beautiful approach shot to the par-four 17th settled about 12 feet from the cup, but Holmes didn't hit the hole as the ball hopped to the right on the putting surface.

When Holmes split the fairway at the 18th with a trademark booming drive, it seemed his track record would forecast what was to come:

Surprising conservatism saw Holmes lay up at the par-five last, despite the fact that he had plenty of length to reach the green. He fancied his chances with a wedge, yet he didn't hit it quite far enough to back his third shot up toward the pin.

No Laying Up had an appropriately intense, disapproving reaction:

Holmes skirted the edge of the cup on the high side from above the hole thereafter, settling for par and suddenly giving numerous players a chance to win.

The par fives were kind to Stallings, whose hole-out for eagle on the 13th had him four-under for the day on such holes and vaulted him into the mix:

Will Gray of Golf Channel alluded to how hit or miss Stallings tends to be:

Needing a birdie to join the party at nine-under, English socked a 5-wood into the left greenside bunker, getting up and down for birdie to get it done.

Day was unfazed by the jumbled bunch of contenders, ultimately rewarded for his aggressive style of play.

The powerful Aussie smashed a 3-wood over the 18th green in two and drew a horrible lie in the rough. He needed to scramble to save par, managing to do so with a ticklish tester from below the hole.

Golf Digest noted the developments that transpired prior to Day's gritty save:

The two birdies Day made included the following long one at the hole where he eventually seized victory:

Alex Prugh had a chance to match the clubhouse lead with a makeable uphill birdie putt, but the attempt was a revolution short, so he settled for a 71 just one stroke back.

Many moons had passed since Prugh was in a similar position, though, per PGA Tour Media:

After a stellar front nine saw Jhonattan Vegas in contention and leading after his birdie on the par-three eighth, two back-nine double bogeys were his undoing. Vegas was part of a group that finished on six-under when he carded a one-over 73.

It's been a mostly tough go for Lucas Glover since he won the U.S. Open in 2009. While he did join Holmes and English in the final trio, Glover faded on Sunday with a five-over 77.

Adam Sarson of theScore captured the area of Glover's game that has plagued him en route to a double bogey at No. 17:

"

GIF: As @shanebacon pointed out, it's scary how short the backswing is here by Lucas Glover. pic.twitter.com/AEs8dm4yjR

— Adam Sarson (@Adam_Sarson) February 8, 2015"

Golf Channel's Ryan Lavner weighed in with the "y" word CBS commentator Nick Faldo refused to say:

The bottom-line story from the last threesome, though, will be Holmes' decision to play it safe on the 72nd hole.

Although his approach was so close to being perfect, Holmes' margin for error with a short club and water guarding the green was minimal, especially given the amount of pressure.

ESPN's John Buccigross believes Day will loom large at the Masters in April, where he'll try to win his first major after three prior runner-up finishes:

A nagging thumb injury plagued Day last season, when it appeared he was destined for a breakout campaign. Now he's bounced back in exceptional fashion and may be an even stronger player because of it.

Next week's PGA Tour event stays in the Golden State for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where Jimmy Walker is the defending champion. Like Stallings did this week, it's reasonable to expect Walker to guard the trophy well.

Walker carded a second-round 66 at Torrey Pines and stayed on the grind to finish on seven-under, logging another top 10. The late-blooming American is proving he can consistently stay with the world's best, and figures to be among the favorites at Pebble Beach.