Farmers Insurance Open Preview 2017

2017 Farmers Insurance Open Preview

Dates: January 26-29, 2017
Where: La Jolla, California
Courses: Torrey Pines Golf Course South Course (host) North Course
Field size: 156
2016 champion: Brandt Snedeker
Purse: $6,700,000 ($1,206,000/winner)
FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Facebook: http://ift.tt/2ktulph
Twitter: @FarmersInsOpen

A look at the field

• Seven-time Farmers Insurance Open champion Tiger Woods, who will make his first official PGA TOUR start since a T10 finish at the 2015 Wyndham Championship.
• 15 of the 30 players who made it to the 2016 TOUR Championship will compete in the Farmers Insurance Open: Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey, Jason Day, Kevin Chappell, Emiliano Grillo, Hideki Matsuyama, Jimmy Walker, Brandt Snedeker, Phil Mickelson, Si Woo Kim, Gary Woodland, Roberto Castro, Daniel Berger, Jhonattan Vegas and J.B. Holmes.
• Three of the top six in the Official World Golf Ranking, including world No. 1 Jason Day, Dustin Johnson (3) and Hideki Matsuyama (6).
• Seven of the top 10 in the FedExCup standings, including Hideki Matsuyama (2), Pat Perez (3), Brendan Steele (4), Mackenzie Hughes (5), Hudson Swafford (6), Rod Pampling (7) and Adam Hadwin (10).
• Seven past champions are in the field: Brandt Snedeker (2016, 2012) Jason Day (2015), Scott Stallings (2014), Tiger Woods (seven times, most recently 2013) Ben Crane (2010), Nick Watney (2009), Phil Mickelson (1993, 2000-01).
• Last week’s CareerBuilder Challenge winner Hudson Swafford, who became the third first-time winner of the 2016-17 PGA TOUR season. Swafford became the seventh winner under the age of 30 in 10 events.
• Adam Hadwin, who finished second at the CareerBuilder Challenge after becoming the eighth player in PGA TOUR history to post a round of 59 (third round).
• Six of the eight different winners on the PGA TOUR in 2016-17.

A look back at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open

• Brandt Snedeker, who finished his final round at 1:40 p.m. PT Sunday (3-under 69), posted a 6-under 282 and waited nearly 24 hours for the final round to be completed. He began the final round trailing by six strokes at 3-under par. Snedeker was the only player in the field to break par in the final round.
• The win was Snedeker’s second tournament title (2012), fourth in California and eighth on TOUR.
• With the win, Snedeker moved to second in all-time earnings in the Farmers Insurance Open with $3,780,342, behind Tiger Woods with $6,856,015. Phil Mickelson moved to third with $3,029,517.
• Was the second Monday finish for the Farmers Insurance Open. In 2013, Tiger Woods claimed his seventh tournament title on a Monday due to dense fog over the weekend.
• Marked the first time since the 2012 Quicken Loans National a course was closed to spectators.
• The final-round scoring average was 77.901 (+5.90) on the South Course, the highest fourth-round scoring average since 1983.

Farmers Insurance Open and the FedExCup

• Eight of the 10 Farmers Insurance Open champions have advanced to the FedExCup finale, the TOUR Championship. Tiger Woods, the 2008 champion was unable to compete in the FedExCup Playoffs due to injury.
• Defending champion Brandt Snedeker is a former FedExCup winner (2012).

Tiger Woods and the Farmers Insurance Open

• Woods will compete in an official PGA TOUR event for the first time since the 2015 Wyndham Championship (T10).
• Woods has won the Farmers Insurance Open seven times: 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2013. Only Woods and Phil Mickelson have more than two wins in the event (Mickelson won in 1993, 2000 and 2001).
• Woods’ last major title came via playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open held at Torrey Pines.
• When Woods won the 2013 Farmers Insurance Open, he became the first player in TOUR history to win on the same golf course eight times, including his U.S. Open victory.
• Every year Woods has won the Farmers Insurance Open, he went on to have multiple-win seasons: 1999 (8 wins), 2003 (5 wins), 2005 (6 wins), 2006 (8 wins), 2007 (7 wins), 2008 (4 wins), 2013 (5 wins)

A closer look at the field

• Phil Mickelson
  • Mickelson is making his 28th start at the Farmers Insurance Open where he is a three-time winner and has seven additional top-10s.
  • In his last five starts, he has only played four rounds once (2016-MC, 2015-MC, 2014-WD, 2013-T51 and 2012-MC).
  • Thirteen of Mickelson’s 42 wins have come in the state of California.
  • Mickelson returned to competition following two hernia surgeries in the fall at the CareerBuilder Challenge (T21)
• Jason Day
  • The World No. 1 is making his eighth start in the Farmers Insurance Open where he won the 2015 tournament. He missed the cut in 2016 (one of two missed cuts) to go along with three top-10s (2015-Won, 2014-T2 and 2013-T9)
  • Day made his first start of the season at the SBS Tournament of Champions, finishing T12.
• Justin Rose
  • Coming off a runner-up in his first start of the season at the Sony Open in Hawaii, the Olympic gold medalist will make his eighth start in the Farmers Insurance Open.
  • Rose has yet to finish in the top 10 at Torrey Pines and has consecutive missed cuts in 2015 and 2016. His best finish is a T22 in 2010.
• Dustin Johnson
  • The 2015-16 PGA TOUR Player of the Year will make his third start of the season. He opened the calendar year with a T6 finish at the SBS Tournament of Champions.
  • In eight previous starts at Torrey Pines, Johnson has one top-10 in six made cuts (T3 in 2011). He finished T18 in 2016 following final rounds of 74-80.
• Rickie Fowler
  • The Farmers Insurance brand ambassador will make his eighth start in the Farmers Insurance Open. In his first four starts, Fowler finished no worse than T20, highlighted by a T5 in 2010 and T6 in 2013. The last three years, he has missed the cut (2014, 2016) and finished T61 (2015).
  • In his only start on the PGA TOUR this season, Fowler finished T6 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions.
• Hideki Matsuyama
  • World No. 6 comes into the week with four wins and two runner-ups in his last seven starts worldwide.
  • Matsuyama finished T16 in his tournament debut in 2014 and missed the cut the last two years (2015, 2016).
• Beau Hossler
  • University of Texas product Beau Hossler will make his professional debut at the Farmers Insurance Open. Following the 2016 NCAA Championship, Hossler underwent surgery for a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
  • Hossler has made four starts on TOUR. He gained national recognition at age 17 when he played the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club and briefly held the outright lead in the middle of the second round.
• Xander Schauffele
  • The San Diego State University alum returns to San Diego as an official member of the PGA TOUR, making his second start in the Farmers Insurance Open (MC-2016).
  • Schauffele earned his TOUR card by virtue of 31st-place finish on 2016 Web.com Tour priority list.
  • His best finish to date on TOUR was T5 at the 2016 Sanderson Farms Championship last fall.

Notable Tournament Records

• The Farmers Insurance Open has not produced a first-time TOUR winner since Jay Don Blake in 1991.
• There has never been a rookie winner at the Farmers Insurance Open. Gene Littler won the event as an amateur in 1954.
• There are only three international players to win the Farmers Insurance Open: Gary Player (1963), Jose Maria Olazabal (2002) and Jason Day (2015).
• The largest final round come-from-behind win at the Farmers Insurance Open is eight shots by Scott Simpson in 1998.
• Since 2000, only four players have carried the 54-hole lead on to victory at the Farmers Insurance Open. Phil Mickelson in 2000, Tiger Woods in 2003 and 2008 and John Daly in 2004.
• Dating to 1997, only eight players have recorded all four rounds in the 60s at the Farmers Insurance Open. Most recently, Jhonattan Vegas and Phil Mickelson performed this feat in 2011, which was the first time since 2001 (Frank Lickliter II, Mike Weir, Jay Don Blake and Shigeki Maruyama). The other two players were Billy Ray Brown and Bill Glasson in 1999.

A look at the North Course Renovation

• The North Course recently completed a nine-month, $12.6 renovation. Tom Weiskopf, who won his first PGA TOUR event at Torrey Pines in 1968, served as architect for the renovation.
• Notable upgrades and changes include:
  • Green speeds and firmness are now comparable to the South Course, a critical improvement for competition
  • Five sets of tees were created, adding nearly 200 yards from the professional tees
  • All 18 greens were completely reconstructed to USGA standards with existing poa annua grass being replaced with 100% bent grass – a Tyee 007 blen
  • Greens were fitted with an advanced SubAir system
  • Greens sizes increased by an average of 42% allowing for more hole locations (4,500 to 6,400 sq. ft)
  • The number of bunkers have been reduced from 59 to 41
  • Fairways average five yards wider
  • The nines were reversed to allow players to finish their rounds along the ocean and canyons
  • The project was completed on time and on budget

Suits for Soldiers

• Tuesday, Jan. 24, 3-3:30 p.m. at The Lodge (Charles Reiffel Room
• Farmers Insurance® launched Suits for Soldiers, designed with the purpose of collecting business attire for military members who have served our nation and are transitioning to the civilian workforce.
• Farmers®, with the help of PGA TOUR players Rickie Fowler, Brandt Snedeker and Ben Crane, will provide suits to local San Diego military active duty and veterans. Farmers will also announce the total collected during the 2016 campaign at the event.
• More than one million military personnel will be making the transition from the military in the next couple of years and many of these veterans may not own appropriate business attire to go to networking events, interviews or even to work.

via PGA TOUR

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