It’s been three years since Adam Long captured his first – and only – PGA Tour title at the 2019 American Express and he returns to La Quinta, Calif., this week for his third start in the desert.
The 34-year-old Long was a rookie when he won his first career Tour title in just his sixth start at what was then called the Desert Classic, shooting a final-round 65 to win by one shot over Phil Mickelson and Adam Hadwin. After entering the week with a career-low of 66 (Round 1 of the 2018 Safeway Open), Long recorded three scores of 65 or better (63-63-65) and needed just 98 putts for the week, marking the fewest in the field. He became the second rookie to win during the 2018-19 season (along with Cameron Champ at the Sanderson Farms Championship, while Mickelson’s T-2 marked his fourth top-three result in 16 starts at the event, including wins in 2002 and 2004. Long has made eight starts in the new season, missing two cuts including last week at the Sony Open. However, he posted four straight finishes inside the top-25 to end the fall series, with his best being a T-11 at the Houston Open. Last season, Long was 85th on the FedExCup standings, making 14 cuts in 30 starts with two top 10s.