by Welcome to the part of the PGA Tour schedule where people start to really pay attention. They don’t necessarily want to, but if J.B. Holmes doesn’t get off the fairway, what other choice do they have? Tiger is in attendance and CBS is in the booth, the season has officially started. Farmer’s Insurance Open Tee Times
A Day Delay
Last year’s event at Torrey Pines proved to be an unforgettable, albeit slow affair. It started on the 72nd hole as J.B. Holmes took over four minutes to lay up and left him missing the playoff by two strokes. To make matters worse, Holmes’ slow play came when a large portion of America was tuned in for the Holmes-delayed Grammy’s. It was a great look for golf. Jason Day ended up defeating Alex Noren on Monday morning after the darkness (and Grammy Awards) stopped play Sunday evening.
Storylines
Meow – Tiger makes his season debut (as he does every year he isn’t playing Call of Duty) at Torrey Pines. The Big Cat has won eight professional events at Torrey (7 Farmers, 1 USO). Given he hasn’t teed it up since the Match, it will be interesting to see what his form will be.
The Field – Tons of great players always show up to Torrey, and this year is no different. Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Reed, Jason Day, Tony Finau, and Jon Rahm will all join Tiger. This field also boasts a strong selection of young players such as Viktor Hovland, Braden Thornberry, Doug Ghim and Nick Hardy.
What Could Be – Torrey is set to host the U.S. Open in 2022, and Rees Jones is once again being brought in to make some updates. Why? We don’t know. Andy detailed the issues with Rees’ philosophy at TP last year during the event. Read his article HERE.
Paulie’s Picks
This week, Paulie loves the long ball. Check out his picks for Torrey Pines here.
Pomp and Circumstance
The Euro Tour continues its trek through the desert in Dubai this week. A course that was once built in the middle of nowhere is now the center of one of the most extravagant events of the year. Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton and Matthew Fitzpatrick headline the field. Tee Times
Quick Hooks
Willy Wilcox, John Oda and Erik Compton are tied for the lead at the Great Abaco Classic on the Web.com Tour. The final round will be played on Wednesday afternoon. Leaderboard
Luci Li headlines the first field of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Full Field
Sean Martin reflects on Tiger’s first PGA Tour win at Torrey.
Brooks is proving that love can make you do some strange things.
The Latest Podcasts and Articles
Shotgun Start: Tiger makes his 2019 debut, the Tour’s Corey Conners problem, and Torrey picks
The new golf season steps up a level this week at the Farmers Insurance Open, where Tiger Woods will make his 2019 debut. The field is absolutely loaded at Torrey Pines and despite Andy’s objections to the course, it’s a strong contender for “event of the week.” We discuss the prospects for Tiger’s 2019, some curious prop bets, and the tough choices he’s going to have to make about what events to play on a condensed schedule. We also discuss the watered down Dubai Desert Classic, the Web Tour finish, and the “Pro Golf Tour’s” Red Sea Ain Sokhna Classic. Brendan rants about the needless gizmos at the PGA Show and Andy rants about the Corey Conners problem that the PGA Tour has right now — it’s worth a rant and completely objectionable. Finally, we get to Paulie’s Picks for some fantasy and one-and-done insight on the Farmers. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify
