Hello. It’s Wednesday and the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour are both in action today. Weird stuff!

Who are these guys?

There’s been some PGA Tour golf already in 2022, but for many players and fans, the Farmers Insurance Open is when they’ll really start paying attention. Six of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are at Torrey Pines, including Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka.

This year’s event runs Wednesday-Saturday in order to avoid getting drowned out by Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and arguments about Jimmy Garoppolo. The Farmers Insurance Open has historically had a plum spot on the schedule—in the gap week between conference championships and the Super Bowl. But the addition of an 18th regular-season NFL game has put the Farmers directly in conflict with the NFC and AFC championship games.

While diehard golf fans will enjoy the novelty of a Saturday primetime finish, the tournament will no doubt lose out on some casual viewers. Don’t be surprised if Farmers asks for a schedule change in 2023.

We’re all setup

In Monday’s newsletter, we touched on the fan-recorded video of Jon Rahm calling PGA West at the American Express a “piece of s**t f***ing setup” and, more broadly, discussed the difficulty of preparing a golf course for today’s pro tournaments. Yesterday, Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner continued that conversation by getting some PGA Tour players’ thoughts on tour setups.

Not everyone spoke all that persuasively on the issue, but four-time major winner Brooks Koepka had some memorably blunt words: “I’m not gonna win if it’s 30 under par, 25 under par. That’s just not me…. I like it when it’s tougher. You gotta grind. It’s more of a mental challenge than just teeing up driver, wedging it on, and it’s a putting contest.”

More and more, it seems, the Tour’s best players—Rahm and Koepka, for two—are expressing concern about recent trends in PGA Tour course presentation. As former world No. 1 Luke Donald put it on Twitter yesterday, “If you are the best in the world, of course you want a tough setup,… [and] the Tour [has] been going away from that more and more. Softer, greener conditions each week, with lots of birdies, is their new recipe.” When nearly every week is a bunched-up birdie bonanza, truly skilled golfers like Rahm and Koepka don’t get to show what makes them different from the Tour’s rank and file.

Are we likely to see drastic changes in PGA Tour venues because a few players have started to complain publicly? No. But it’s good to know that fans aren’t the only ones frustrated by boring, “piece of s**t f***ing” setups.

The Latest from The Fried Egg

We’re running a winter sale in our pro shop through the end of the month. Use code WINTERBLUES at checkout for 10% off your order.

Paulie’s Picks: Farmers Insurance Open – There are two courses at Torrey but only one Paulie. He’s got you covered for all things fantasy golf!

The Fried Egg Podcast: Jackson Kahn Design – Tim Jackson and David Kahn join Andy Johnson to talk about their start in golf architecture under Tom Fazio, their work at Monterey Peninsula Country Club and Scottsdale National Golf Club, and more. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.

The Shotgun Start – Frugal Frittelli isn’t so frugal and there’s no way the PGA Tour voluntarily moved to a Wednesday-Saturday schedule. That and more on the latest SGS. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Boards and Tee Times

Marty “Dou Boi” Dou leads the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic heading into the final round.

Arizona State leads Pepperdine heading into the final round of the Southwestern Invitational, one of the top tournaments in college golf.

The DP World Tour’s Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic gets underway on Thursday, with Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, and Sergio García in the field.

Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, Danielle Kang, Inbee Park, and Yuka Saso headline the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio.

Quick Hooks

Luke Donald appears to be the favorite for the next European Ryder Cup captaincy.