Quick return to Torrey Pines brings well -known surroundings with much more of golf’s best players

San Diego (AP) – Business boxes around the 18th green by Torrey Pines is just like they were three weeks ago except the color – black instead of blue – and the logo. The rough is thicker from recent rain. Otherwise, South Course seems to be all the beast it usually is.

Same course. New tournament.

Genesis Invitational, one of the leading events on PGA Tour because it is held at Riviera in Los Angeles, moved to San Diego’s popular public course Due to La Wildfires that destroyed so much of the Pacific Palisades community around Riv.

The confidentiality goes only so far.

The 72-man field includes only 32 players who have taken it up at Farmers Insurance Open, including Harris English trying to participate in a most exclusive list. Tiger Woods (twice), Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan are the only players to win on a course twice in one year.

The difference is that they won us open – Woods US Open at Torrey Pines (2008) and Pebble Beach (2000), Nicklaus at Pebble Beach (1972) and Hogan at Riviera (1948).

But the field also has 46 of the top 50 in the world, many who only play because Genesis Invitational is a $ 20 million signature event where $ 4 million goes to the winner.

Rory McIlroy has not been to Torrey since it hosted the US Open in 2021.

“I didn’t expect to be at Torrey this year, but of course everything happened in LA and they had to turn quickly,” McIlroy said. “Yes, it’s good to be back. It’s a bit of a different set -up than the US Open in ’21, it’s much softer and rough is thick and of course playing very long. “

McIlroy played only nine holes in Pro-Am when his amateurs suggested it was enough in a cold, raw rain and marine layer that removed one of Torrey’s best feature-uninhabited views of the Pacific.

When asked if it reminded him of farmers insurance open or an American open, it was no competition due to the recent rain. Yes, the rough is juicy and thick. The green ones are lots of soft.

“But the course is going to play long, the rough is very, very punishment, so there is a prize for putting your ball in the fairway and then controlling spin in the green,” he said.

Scottie Scheffler can certify the rough.

The world’s # 1 player has not been to Torrey Pines since a draw for 2022, the last tournament he played before he started winning. He had a match with Gary Woodland on Tuesday afternoon when Scheffler’s tee shot hit a tree on par-5 18.

What followed was a dozen people searching for the golf ball – Scheffler hate to lose – and it was eventually found by his mother. All he could do from there was to walk in a 7-iron down on the fairway. Scheffler adds a 5-tree to the bag this week to help with shots out of the rough.

For him, this does not feel like a regular farmer’s insurance open for another reason.

“We are not playing north,” he said, referring to the second course used in the opening rounds three weeks ago. Now the ninth hole in the north is a card game area.

“But I think it will play as the farmers,” he said. “It will remind me of what it was then. It’s thick rough. The course plays long because it is soft. It’s going to rain and be cold. The south is a brutal course for four days, physically. “

Scheffler had a late start to his season after punctures his right hand while he made ravioliwhich required minor surgery and seams. This will be his third event – a top 10 on Pebble Beach in his debut, an early charge Sunday after a 41 on the back nine in Phoenix.

“I want to get two weeks under my belt,” he said. “I was thinking about adding an event to get some reps in, but I want to be in a good place.”

McIlroy is in a good place. He began the PGA Tour part of his global schedule by Winning for the first time at Pebble BeachAnother soft course of rain and lots of wind that led him to play three quarters shots to control his game. It worked beautifully in a two-shot victory.

“Feel that I’m in good shape, of course, to get behind Pebble,” McIlroy said. “Just trying to keep it rolling.”

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