What to know about the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open (with its Saturday finish)
It’s Week 4 on the PGA Tour’s 2024 schedule, which marks the return to the calendar-year-based format.
Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego is once again the host for the Farmers Insurance Open.
The golf tournament first started as the San Diego Open in 1952. In 1968, it moved to Torrey Pines and became the Andy Williams San Diego Open. Tom Weiskopf won that first tournament there.
Tiger Woods has famously won the event seven times. He had an eighth victory on the golf course when he won the 2008 U.S. Open.
Here are some fast facts you’ll need to know about the 2024 version of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Remember: It's a Wednesday to Saturday format
This will be the third year that the Farmers Insurance Open will start on Wednesday and conclude on Saturday. It’s the only PGA Tour stop with a Saturday final round and that has to do with football.
The NFL’s AFC and NFC Championship games are back-to-back this Sunday and with the monster TV ratings the league garners, the PGA Tour made a strategic move to avoid that day altogether.
“We are excited about the opportunity that these changes present and fully embrace the uniqueness that comes with being the only tournament on the PGA Tour schedule with a Saturday-evening finish,” Marty Gorsich, CEO of the Century Club of San Diego, which runs the Farmers, said in a statement in September of 2021 when the change was made official.
Golf Channel will have live TV coverage of the first two rounds Wednesday and Thursday. CBS will take over for Friday’s third round and Saturday’s final round.
Max Homa returns as defending champion; Justin Thomas has withdrawn
The Farmers field is usually strong and it will be once again. Defending champion Max Homa, who was last seen winning in South Africa two months ago, is back.
Ludvig Aberg, Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day, Tony Finau, Sungjae Im, Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele are all in field.
Justin Thomas was originally on the commit list but he withdrew Sunday evening. He tied for third at the American Express.
What about the PGA Tour's newest wunderkind, Nick Dunlap?
Dunlap was already in the field as a sponsor exemption but his win in the American Express granted him better status. There was talk in the media entering in La Quinta about the 2 ½-drive south to San Diego for the Dunlap crew, but word came out Monday afternoon that Dunlap will not play at Torrey Pines after all.
Statement on behalf of Nick Dunlap pic.twitter.com/9VGwMbjWEi
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) January 22, 2024
Two courses in play this week
Torrey Pines has a North and a South course, with the first 36 holes contested over the two. Then after the cut, all the action takes place on the South, which is ranked No. 39 on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play 2023: Top 100 U.S. public-access courses.
If you’re interested in playing the courses, you can, as Torrey Pines is a municipal facility (one of two on the PGA Tour schedule). But be ready to pony up. If you’re a non-resident, it’ll cost about $400 for greens fee, booking fee and a golf cart to play Friday through Sunday.
The Farmers won't be the Farmers after 2026
Farmers Insurance, which has been the title sponsor of the San Diego event at Torrey Pines since 2010, will not renew its agreement with the PGA Tour after its current contract expires in 2026.
