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Mark Schlabach
The PGA Tour’s West Coast swing hits the halfway point at this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California.
The tournament tees off Wednesday and wraps up Saturday to avoid competing with the NFL’s conference championship games on Sunday.
France’s Matthieu Pavon is the defending champion, and he’ll battle a field that includes world No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama and No. 8 Ludvig Åberg.
This week’s tournament will be followed by three of the tour’s biggest events: Pebble Beach Pro-Am, WM Phoenix Open and the Genesis Invitational.
Here’s are some of this week’s storylines at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Genesis Invitational on the move
Because of the devastating fire in Pacific Palisades, California, the PGA Tour is relocating next month’s Genesis Invitational, which was scheduled to be played at Riviera Country Club outside Los Angeles from Feb. 13 to Feb. 16.
The PGA Tour was considering several new locations but seems to be leaning toward returning to Torrey Pines, sources told ESPN this week.
The Genesis Invitational, which is hosted by Tiger Woods, would be played on the more challenging South Course. This week’s Farmers Insurance Open is being played on the North and South Courses.
Woods won eight times on the South Course, including the 2008 U.S. Open.
“Obviously with the fondness that [Woods] has for Torrey Pines, it seems like an easy fit,” San Diego native Charley Hoffman said. “But right now each and every guy in this field’s working to get into Genesis like myself if they’re not in it. And obviously as a hometown kid, I’m wishing it comes here.”
Riviera Country Club and Torrey Pines are about 123 miles apart. Infrastructure would already be in place to support the Genesis Invitational, a signature event with a $20 million purse.
“I think the platform here in San Diego would be a very logical place to put it,” Hoffman said. “But there’s so many logistics [involved in] moving an event three or four weeks out. Hotels, volunteers, rebranding the site. There’s so much the tour has to do. That’s a tough task, and I know they’re up for it, but no matter where they go it’s going to be a tough task to get everything figured out.”
Hoffman wasn’t the only PGA Tour player who supported moving the Genesis Invitational to Torrey Pines.
“No pushback from me,” Aberg said. “Bring it here, please.”
“If it comes here I can understand why they’ve come here,” Jason Day said. “Obviously, Tiger’s had a huge amount of success here. It’s not that far from L.A., it’s just down the road. The infrastructure’s here already. It just depends on if the city wants to hold it and what that would look like.”
Regardless of where the Genesis Invitational ends up, Day said it’s important for the tour to continue to support the people that were affected by the fires.
“Even though we’re talking about another tournament coming to San Diego, which is a great thing for San Diego, there’s a lot of people that are out of a home that typically we come in and everything’s normal,” Day said. “Right now, there’s a lot of people that are struggling, so we can’t forget about that, too.”
Hoffman’s comeback
There were times during the past few seasons when Hoffman wondered if he’d still be able to compete on the PGA Tour. Now 48 years old, he was playing against much younger players, and a nagging back injury didn’t help matters either.
Last season, Hoffman had three top-10s in 24 starts. The high point came at the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale when he fell to Nick Taylor on the second hole of a playoff.
In 2022-23, Hoffman didn’t have a top-10 finish and missed 18 cuts in 31 starts on tour.
“This is the first offseason in the last probably three to four years I’ve been able to work and practice and play and work out,” Hoffman said. “In the past it was like, ‘All right, how do I get ready to even tee it up on the PGA Tour?’ [My] back wasn’t any good.”
Hoffman’s hard work paid off in last week’s American Express at PGA West in La Quinta, California. He had a share of the 36-hole lead and tied for fifth at 20 under, five strokes behind winner Sepp Straka.
“The answer to that question is 100% I wasn’t sure I would ever be competitive out here again,” Hoffman said. “Obviously, last year in Phoenix I was competitive. The rest of it wasn’t up to my liking, but this year obviously started off on the right foot, getting myself in contention.”
Hoffman assembled a team to help get his back in better shape through weight lifting, cold tubs and infrared saunas.
The San Diego native will be making his 27th start in the PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines. He first qualified for the 1994 Buick Invitational of California as a 17-year old junior at Poway High School in Poway, California.
‘Full Swing’ is coming back
Netflix announced the release date for season three of “Full Swing,” its reality show that follows golfers on the PGA Tour. The third season will premiere on Feb. 25.
According to a news release Wednesday, the third season will focus on world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler’s record performance in 2024, Rory McIlroy’s life on and off the course, LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau’s resurgence, and Keegan Bradley’s comeback to unexpected Ryder Cup captain.
The season will also feature Min Woo Lee and his sister Minjee’s quest to make the Paris Olympics, and Gary Woodland’s return to the tour after battling a brain tumor.
O-H-I-O
Jason Day was born and raised in Australia, but he moved to Westerville, Ohio, near his wife Ellie’s hometown, several years ago. Naturally, he adopted Ohio State as his favorite college football team and counts Buckeyes coach Ryan Day among his friends.
Day was thrilled to watch Ohio State defeat Notre Dame 34-23 in Monday night’s CFP National Championship presented by AT&T in Atlanta. It was redemption for Ryan Day, who was criticized heavily after the Buckeyes fell to rival Michigan for the fourth straight time in the regular-season finale.
“I must admit I will say to all the people that were calling for his head, I’m like, ‘Come on,'” Day said. “I know that we’ve lost against Michigan the last four seasons, and that’s big for Ohio people — we can’t lose against Michigan. But I’d take a championship over losing to Michigan every single year.”
The 2015 PGA Championship winner attended an Ohio State practice in October 2023. He also has relationships with former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, whom he played with in a pro-am, and former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer.
Mr. Day 🤝 Mr. Day pic.twitter.com/aURozx6VNI
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 10, 2023
But Day has earned respect for the Buckeyes coach with the same last name.
“It was nice to be able to see his success,” said Day, who tied for third, at 22 under, in last week’s American Express. “Obviously, since that Michigan game, the whole team, he’s rallied the boys and they’ve played tremendous. It was fun to watch.
“It’s amazing to see how many times you can get gut punched and then get up and rally the troops again and keep going. That’s inspiring to see because if you’ve ever been to Columbus, Ohio, Ohio State football is the thing there. It is a religion. A lot of people support it and I support it.”
