Farmers Insurance Open Preview 2018

2018 Farmers Insurance Open Preview

• Where: San Diego, California
• Courses: Torrey Pines Golf Course South Course (host) North Course
• Field size: 156
• 2017 champion: Jon Rahm
• Purse: $6,900,000 ($1,242,000/winner)
• FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
• Format: 72-hole stroke play
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/FarmersInsuranceOpen
• Twitter: @FarmersInsOpen

A look at the field

• Seven-time Farmers Insurance Open champion (and 2008 U.S. Open winner) Tiger Woods will make his 2017-18 PGA TOUR Season debut, the first time he has played an official PGA TOUR event in a year.
• Four of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including defending champion Jon Rahm (2), Hideki Matsuyama (5), Justin Rose (6), Rickie Fowler (7).
• 14 of the top 20 in the FedExCup standings are in the field, including Jon Rahm (2), Brian Harman (7), Brendan Steele (8), Patrick Cantlay (9), Justin Rose (10), Andrew Landry (11), Tony Finau (12), Chesson Hadley (13), J.J. Spaun (14), Rickie Fowler (15), Marc Leishman (17), Whee Kim (18), Cameron Smith (19), James Hahn (20).
• Eight past champions are in the field: Jon Rahm (2017), 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 (three times, most recently 2001).
• Six major winners (Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen, Jason Day, Justin Rose, Jimmy Walker) and six PLAYERS champions (Phil Mickelson, K.J. Choi, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, Si Woo Kim).

Farmers Insurance Open and the FedExCup

• Nine of the 11 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.
• In his first season eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs, defending champion Jon Rahm finished No. 5 in the final standings on the strength of top-seven finishes in all four Playoffs events.
• Four of the five winners of the 2016-17 West Coast Swing through California and Arizona finished in the top 10 in the FedExCup: Jordan Spieth (AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am/2), Dustin Johnson (Genesis Open/4), Jon Rahm (Farmers Insurance Open/5) and Hideki Matsuyama (Waste Management Phoenix Open/8). CareerBuilder Challenge winner Hudson Swafford finished a career-best 38th in the FedExCup.

A look back at the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open

• Beginning the final round of the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open three strokes off the lead at 6-under 210, Spain’s Jon Rahm made two eagles and a birdie on his last six holes to post a final-round 7-under 65 and claim his maiden PGA TOUR victory by three strokes over C.T. Pan and Charles Howell III
• Rahm was at 13-under 275 in his 17th TOUR start at the age of 22 years, 2 months and 19 days.
• On the 72nd hole, Rahm drained a 60’ 8” putt for eagle on the par-5 home hole from just off the back of the green.
• The last player to eagle the 72nd hole and win the Farmers Insurance Open was Tiger Woods in 2009.
• Rahm’s back-nine 30 was nearly six shots better than the field average in the final round.
• Rahm played the par 5s at Torrey Pines a combined 11-under, outperforming the field by seven shots.
• Rahm became the first player to make the Farmers Insurance Open his first PGA TOUR title since Jay Don Blake in 1991.

More on Jon Rahm’s 2017 season

• Recorded 11 top-10 finishes in 23 starts.
• Following his win at the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open, posted five top-10s in his next seven starts highlighted by making it to the final match of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and a T3 at the WGC-Mexico Championship.
• Finished inside the top seven in all four FedExCup Playoffs events.
• Won twice on the European Tour.

Tiger Woods and the Farmers Insurance Open

• Woods will compete in an official PGA TOUR event for the first time since the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open (MC). Woods finished T9 this fall in the unofficial Hero World Challenge
• 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)

Phil Mickelson

• Mickelson is making his 29th start at the Farmers Insurance Open where he is a three-time winner.
• The Farmers Insurance Open and Waste Management Phoenix Open are the two events on TOUR where Mickelson has the most appearances (28 both).
• After a WD and two consecutive missed cuts from 2014-2016, Mickelson finished T14 in 2017.
• Thirteen of Mickelson’s 42 wins have come in the state of California.
• As a captain’s pick, made his record 12th consecutive appearance in the Presidents Cup last fall, helping lead the United States to a dominating 19-11 victory with a 3-0-1 record for the week.

Jason Day

• Day will make his third start of the season and first in the United States. Day finished T11 overseas in both THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES and World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions
•  Since his win at the 2015 Farmers Insurance Open, Day has missed the cut at Torrey Pines (2016 and 2017). This will mark his ninth start in the event where he has two top-10s in addition to his win.

Justin Rose

• With three wins in his last six worldwide starts (World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, Turkish Airlines Open and Indonesian Masters), Justin Rose will make his first PGA TOUR start of the calendar year.
• Rose has top-10s in his last 10 starts (dating to THE NORTHERN TRUST and including the unofficial Hero World Challenge).
• In eight previous starts in the Farmers Insurance Open, Rose’s best finish came in 2017 (T4).

Rickie Fowler

• The Farmers Insurance brand ambassador will make his ninth start in the Farmers Insurance Open.
• Fowler has missed the cut the last two years and has two top-10s (2010/T5, 2013/T6).
• In two official starts this season, Fowler finished runner-up (OHL Classic at Mayakoba) and T4 (Sentry Tournament of Champions). In the unofficial Hero World Challenge, Fowler won by four shots after a final-round 61, which included eight birdies on his front nine.

Xander Schauffele

• The San Diego State University alum returns to San Diego as a two-time PGA TOUR winner. In 2017, he became the first PGA TOUR rookie to win the FedExCup Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship.
• Shauffele was named 2017 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year and was formally presented the trophy by Commissioner Monahan on Tuesday of tournament week.
• Has missed the cut in two previous starts at the Farmers Insurance Open (2016, 2017).

Notable Tournament Records

• The last five Farmers Insurance Open winners started their week on the South Course.
• 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.