The PGA Tour’s West Coast Swing reaches a halfway point in this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California.
The tournament will begin on Wednesday and wrap up on Saturday to avoid competing with the NFL’s conference championship games on Sunday.
Matthieu Pavon of France is the defending champion, and will battle a field that includes No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama and No. 8 Ludvig Åberg.
This week’s tournament will be followed by three of the tour’s biggest events: the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the WM Phoenix Open and the Genesis Invitational.
Here are some of the stories from this week’s Farmers Insurance Open.
Genesis Invitational on the go
Due to the devastating fire in Pacific Palisades, California, the PGA Tour is moving next month’s Genesis Invitational, which was supposed to be played at the Riviera Country Club outside of Los Angeles from Feb. 13 to Feb. 16.
The PGA Tour has been considering several new venues but appears to be leaning toward returning to Torrey Pines, sources told ESPN this week.
The Genesis Invitational, hosted by Tiger Woods, will be played on the challenging South Course. This week the Farmers Insurance Open is played on the North and South courses.
Woods won eight times on the South Course, including the 2008 US Open.
“Obviously like that [Woods] it’s a good fit for Torrey Pines, it seems like an easy fit,” said San Diego native Charley Hoffman. “But right now everyone in the industry is working to get into Genesis like me if they’re not in it. And obviously as a home kid, I wish he could get here.”
Riviera Country Club and Torrey Pines are 123 miles apart. The infrastructure will already be in place to support the Genesis Invitational, a signature event with a $20 million purse.
“I think the arena here in San Diego would be a logical place to put it,” Hoffman said. “But there are too many logistics [involved in] moving the event three or four weeks out. Hotels, volunteers, site rebranding. There is a lot of sightseeing to be done. That’s a tough job, and I know they’re committed to it, but wherever they go it’s going to be a tough job to get everything.”
Hoffman wasn’t the only PGA Tour player to support moving the Genesis Invitational to Torrey Pines.
“There’s no backing down for me,” Aberg said. “Please bring it here.”
“If it comes here, I can understand why they came here,” said Jason Day. “Obviously, Tiger has had a lot of success here. It’s not that far from LA, it’s just down the road. The infrastructure is there. It depends on what the city wants to host and what that looks like.”
Regardless of where the Genesis Invitational ends, Day said it is important that the tour continues to support the people affected by the fire.
“Even though we’re talking about another tournament coming to San Diego, which is good for San Diego, there’s a lot of people from home that we usually go into and it’s all normal,” Day said. “Right now, there are a lot of people who are struggling, so we can’t forget that.”
The return of Hoffman
There were times during the past few seasons when Hoffman wondered if he would ever be able to compete on the PGA Tour. Now 48, he was playing with much younger players, and a nagging back injury didn’t help.
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 playoff hole.
In 2022-23, Hoffman did not finish in the top 10 and missed 18 cuts in 31 tour starts.
“This is the first season since last season in about three to four years that I’ve been able to work and practice and play and work hard,” said Hoffman. “In the past it was like, ‘Okay, how am I even going to make it on the PGA Tour?’ [My] back then it wasn’t good.”
Hoffman’s hard work paid off at last week’s American Express PGA West in La Quinta, California. He shared 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 was going to compete here again,” Hoffman said. “Obviously last year in Phoenix I was competitive. Some of it wasn’t my favorite, but obviously this year started off on the right foot, I’m putting myself in contention.”
Hoffman assembled a team to help him get his back in better shape through weight lifting, cold baths and infrared saunas.
The San Diego native will be making his 27th start at 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’ returns
Netflix has announced the release date for the third season of “Full Swing,” its reality show that follows golfers on the PGA Tour. The third season will premiere on February 25.
According to a press release released Wednesday, the third season will focus on No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler’s 2024 record, Rory McIlroy’s life on and off the course, LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau, and Keegan Bradley’s unlikely return as captain of the Ryder Cup. .
The season will also feature Min Woo Lee and his sister Minjee’s bid for the Paris Olympics, and Gary Woodland’s return to the tour after battling a brain tumor.
OHIO
Jason Day was born and raised in Australia, but moved to Westerville, Ohio, near his wife Ellie’s hometown, a few years ago. Naturally, he embraces Ohio State as his favorite college football team and counts Buckeyes coach Ryan Day among his friends.
Day enjoyed watching Ohio State defeat Notre Dame 34-23 in Monday night’s CFP National Championship presented by AT&T in Atlanta. It was the redemption of Ryan Day, who was widely criticized after the Buckeyes lost to Michigan for the fourth straight regular season finale.
“I have to admit that all the people who were calling him, I would say, ‘Come on,'” said Day. “I know we’ve lost to Michigan the last four seasons, and that’s big for Ohioans — we’re undefeated against Michigan. But I’ll take the championship over losing to Michigan every year.”
The 2015 PGA Championship winner went to practice at Ohio State in October 2023. He also has a relationship with former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, with whom he played in the 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 been honored by the Buccaneers coach with the same last name.
“It was great to see his success,” said Day, who finished third, at 22 under, in last week’s American Express. “Obviously, since that Michigan game, the whole team, the guys have come together and they’ve played amazing. It’s been fun to watch.
“It’s amazing to see how many times you can get beat in the gut and get back up and rally and keep going. It’s encouraging to see that because if you’ve been to Columbus, Ohio, Ohio State, football is a thing. It’s a religion for a lot of people and I support it.
