After last week’s exciting shootout at PGA West, the tour travels 150 miles southwest, from the Palm Springs desert to the San Diego coast, for this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at the venerable Torrey Pines Golf Course.
The long-running tournament, the second of the five-stop West Coast swing, provides yet another opportunity for the players to rack up some early-season FedEx Cup points.
The field in La Jolla, California is headlined by five of the top-10 ranked players in the Official World Golf Rankings, including Jon Rahm (3), Xander Schauffele (6), Will Zalatoris (7), Collin Morikawa (8) and Justin Thomas (9).
The 156-player field also includes top-20 ranked stars such as Tony Finau (12), Max Homa (16), Sungjae Im (19) and Hideki Matsuyama (20).
Other marquee names who will tee it up include Keegan Bradley, Jason Day, Justin Rose, Si Woo Kim and Maverick McNealy, among others.
The Skinny
Tournament: Farmers Insurance Open
Dates: Jan. 25-28, 2023
PGA Tour Debut: 1952
PGA TOUR Week: 13th (of 43)
TV Network: GOLF/CBS
Course: Torrey Pines GC (South)
Where: La Jolla, Calif.
Distance: 7698 yards, Par 72
Architect: William Bell
Field 156 players
Format: 36-hole cut, 72-hole stroke
Purse: $8,700,000
Win Share: $1,566,000
FedEx Cup/OWGR Points: 500/46.9
2022 Champion: Luke List
How to Follow the Farmers Insurance Open
TELEVISION: Wed-Thu: 3-7 p.m. (GOLF); Fri: 3-5 p.m. (GOLF), 5-8 p.m. (CBS); Sat: 2:30-4:30 p.m. (GOLF), 4:30-8 p.m. (CBS)
PGA TOUR LIVE (ESPN+): Wed-Thu: 12-7 p.m. ET (ESPN+); Fri-Sat: 12:30-8 p.m. (ESPN+)
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RADIO: Wed-Thu: 1-7 p.m.; Fri-Sat: 3-8 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM)
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History
The Farmers Insurance Open, originally called the San Diego Open, has been a part of the PGA Tour since 1952, with this year’s edition being the 71st all time.
Ted Kroll was the inaugural winner, taking the first San Diego Open by three strokes over the better-known Jimmy Dameret. The tournament has taken place in the San Diego area since its inception, with Torrey Pines hosting every event since 1968.
Notable winners of the tournament include Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
Woods has won an unbelievable seven times, easily the most of anyone in tournament history, with native son Mickelson next with three titles. Woods also captured his 14th major title at Torrey Pines, winning the 2008 U.S. Open against Rocco Mediate in a playoff.
The tournament was hosted for more than 20 years by Andy Williams, with the singer’s name appearing as part of the title from 1968-88. It is also believed to be the favorite tournament of Nelson Muntz of Simpsons fame.
History: Tournament Titles
- Farmers Insurance Open (2010-Present)
- Buick Invitational (1992-2009)
- Shearson Lehman Open (1989-91)
- Shearson Lehman-Andy Williams Open (1986-88)
- Isuzu-Andy Williams Open (1983-85)
- Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open (1981-82)
- Andy Williams San Diego Open Invitational (1968-80)
- San Diego Open Invitational (1957-67)
- Convair-San Diego Open (1955-56)
- San Diego Open (1952-55)
History: Recent Winners
2022: Luke List
2021: Patrick Reed*
2020: Marc Leishman*
2019: Justin Rose
2018: Jason Day
2017: Jon Rahm
2016: Brandt Snedeker
2015: Jason Day
2014: Scott Stallings
2013: Tiger Woods
2012: Brandt Snedeker
2011: Bubba Watson*
* Suspended by PGA Tour for joining LIV. Excluded from 2023 field.
History: Records
Wins: 7 – Tiger Woods (1999, 2003, 2005-09, 2013)
18-Hole Score: 62 – Woods (1999) (South)
72-Hole Score: 266 (-22) – George Burns (1987), Woods (1999)
The Course: Torrey Pines
Torrey Pines Golf Course is a 36-hole municipal golf facility owned by the city of San Diego, California. It sits on the coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the community of La Jolla, just south of Torrey Pines State Reserve.
Opened 65 years ago in 1957, it was built on the site of Camp Callan, a U.S. Army installation during World War II.
Torrey Pines has two 18-hole golf courses, North and South, both designed by William F. Bell (son of noted course architect William P. Bell). The South Course was redesigned by Rees Jones in 2001, and is now 7,802 yards in length from the back tees with par at 72. The North Course was redesigned by Tom Weiskopf in 2016, switching the front nine with the back nine so that the famous ocean views are now enjoyed by golfers finishing their rounds.
Since the late 1960s, Torrey Pines has hosted the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open, originally titled the San Diego Open. Held annually in January or February, the tournament uses both courses for the first two rounds and the South Course for the final two rounds.
It hosted the 2008 and 2021 editions of the U.S. Open on the South Course.
The course is named for the Torrey Pine, a rare tree that grows in the wild only along this local stretch of the coastline in San Diego County and on Santa Rosa Island.
The Skinny
Name: Torrey Pines GC
Holes: 36 (North and South)
Locale: La Jolla, CA
Established: 1957
Type: Public
Owned By: City of San Diego
Greens: Bentgrass with Poa Annua
Fairways: Kikuyu overseeded with Rye
Tees: Kikuyu overseeded with Rye
Designer: William F. Bell
Website: TorreyPines.com
The Farmers’ Field
The field this week at Torrey Pines is headlined by top-10 ranked superstars such as Jon Rahm (No. 3), Xander Schauffele (6) Will Zalatoris (7) and Justin Thomas (9).
Other top-ranked names include Tony Finau (12) and Hideki Matsuyama (20), among others.
Finally, defending champion Luke List will be joined by several other former Farmers’ champs in Justin Rose (2019), Jason Day (2018, 2015), and Rahm (2017), who enters on a hot streak and won the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
Top-5 Betting Favorites
Book Rank-Player (Odds)
1. Jon Rahm (4-1)
2. Xander Schauffele (11-1)
3. Tony Finau (12-1)
4. Justin Thomas (14-1)
4. Will Zalatoris (14-1)
Full Field & Odds
Farmers Insurance Open | Torrey Pines GC | La Jolla, CA | Jan. 25-28, 2023
Joel Cook contributed to this report.
Credits: PGA Tour Media, Getty Images
