Rumors have been swirling around the PGA Tour in general and the San Diego tour stop in particular.
A golfer and his caddie make their way up the 18th fairway on the South Course at Torrey Pines as the sun sets during a practice round heading into this week’s Farmers Insurance Open. It was unusually calm and quiet around the Torrey Pines Golf Course on Monday as players began arriving for practice rounds for the Farmers Insurance Open.
Farmers week often brings out the rain, wind and fog in a place most people think of as perpetually sunny and 72. This week’s forecast, appropriately enough, calls for sunshine and temperatures in the mid-70s for the 72-hole event. What has been in the wind are rumors of change coming to the PGA Tour in general and the San Diego tour stop in particular. It was revealed 2 1/2 weeks ago that this will be the last year for Farmers as title sponsor, ending a relationship that began in 2010. This comes at a time when there has been talk of reducing the number of PGA tournaments on the calendar. Sports Illustrated reported two weeks ago about one idea “floated” that would reduce the schedule to 22 tournament weeks, plus the four major championships. That would mean a reduction of eight tournaments. The Farmers, which began in 1952 as the San Diego Open, is one of only a handful of PGA Tour events that have been held for more than half a century. This is the 59th straight year the event has been played at Torrey Pines.Marty Gorsich, the Farmers Insurance Open’s CEO, can’t see it coming to that. There is some indication that the events in Hawaii are more at risk for going away. Uncertainty can be unsettling nonetheless. “Torrey is iconic,” Gorsich said. “If you want to watch the best players, you also want to watch the best courses. When you talk about a national audience tuning in to courses that they know or have a connection to, Torrey is on that list. “That leaves us very confident. We operate a great event. We’ve got a great city, but there’s so many great cities who embrace their events. But a huge differentiator is it’s Torrey Pines.” The tournament — and course — owes much of its rich history to Tiger Woods, who made annual visits to Torrey throughout his career. Woods won the event here seven times, and he added a historic victory at the 2008 U.S. Open played at Torrey Pines. Imagine how different things might have been if Woods grew up in Florida, where he lives now, instead of 100 miles north of San Diego, and never developed the affection for Torrey Pines that came when he was a junior golfer. “The history that’s been created here with some of the players, the ocean views, the iconic U.S. Opens ,” Gorsich said. “You just go on and on about what it means. Even what Tiger did for our event. That interest. That viewing audience.” The tour is focused on getting the top names to play together more often, and reducing the number events is one way to do that. Creating “scarcity” is among the strategies being considered by the nine-member Future Competition Committee.But no one knows for sure what the future holds until the PGA’s vision for 2027 is revealed. If things fall into place, clarity could come as soon as March. A new sponsor for the tournament here could come within a similar timeframe. “You say Torrey Pines, people know what it is, where it is, and they have memories,” Gorsich said. “We have that over a lot of other events. There’s only a handful that have that. “So that leaves us very appropriately confident . If you want to watch the best players on the hardest courses, in the most iconic places, I’ve got to feel really good about where we sit with that.”For the first time in nearly 20 years, ESPN will air live coverage of a non-major tour event when it broadcasts the first two rounds of the Farmers. The network announced Monday that it will provide coverage Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. The Golf Channel takes over coverage at noon those days. Brooks Koepka, making his PGA Tour return at the Farmers, will be part of a featured group the first two days with former Farmers champion Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg, who won the Genesis Invitational played last year at Torrey Pines. Another featured group pairs defending Farmers champion Harris English with San Diegans Xander Schauffele and J.J. Spaun.When Koepka was added to the field two weeks ago in his return from LIV Golf, Koepka became the 145th player in the 144-player tournament so as not to take a spot away from another tour member. That, in turn, led to expanding the field to 147 players so that each group would include three players.Griffin has made the cut here six of seven times he’s been in the tournament. He has two top-10 finishes, including a tie for ninth last year.Hometown favorite Michael Kim withdrew from the tournament on Monday because of an injury. “I’ve been dealing with a back strain these last few weeks and I was hoping for it to improve but it hasn’t,” Kim said on X . “I’m taking a week off to get healthy for this next stretch. Really disappointing to miss my hometown event. I’ll be back next year.” Kim was replaced in the field by Sam Ryder. Patton Kizzire also withdrew Monday and was replaced by Joel Dahmen.The field was filled with four players from a Monday qualifier event held at Mission Viejo Country Club. Thomas Rosenmueller and Henrik Norlander tied for first with seven-under 65s. Hunter Logan and Jeremy Paul were both two shots back at 67. It is the ninth Farmers appearance for Norlander, who tied for second place in 2021 behind winner Patrick Reed.TV: Thursday-Friday: 9 a.m.-noon PT , noon-4 p.m. ; Saturday: 10 a.m.-noon , noon-3:30 p.m. ; Sunday: 10 a.m.-noon , noon-3 p.m. At 82, retired teacher and former marathon runner has discovered his next chapter doesn’t require a busy social calendar At 82, retired teacher and former marathon runner has discovered his next chapter doesn’t require a busy social calendar Officials believe San Diego is well positioned as cities compete for dwindling state homeless dollarsPadres pitcher Yu Darvish poised to walk away from his contract Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner launches 13th roundtrip between San Diego and Los Angeles, with plans to expand still moreAfter second trial, jury convicts San Diego County deputy who seriously injured restrained inmate What do Palm Springs and Escondido have in common? After Prop. 50, they’re battlegrounds for Democrats taking on Issa What do Palm Springs and Escondido have in common? After Prop. 50, they’re battlegrounds for Democrats taking on Issa
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