The last time we saw the best professional golfers in the world playing Torrey Pines, Jon Rahm was bringing home the U.S. Open title last June.
The Farmers Insurance Open begins today at Torrey Pines in a unique Wednesday-Saturday format (more on that later), using both the South Course (site of the Open) and North Course.
Given that Rahm has four top 10’s at the tournament in five appearances, as well as the Open title should certainly make for him to be the favorite for the tournament.
He is a cumulative 51-under par in the tournament since 2017, his first year when he also won the tournament. It’s the lowest to par for anyone in the span.
The North Course traditionally plays easier than the South and Rahm was taken full advantage with a scoring average of 66.4, the best since 1990.
On the South Course he is hitting fairways off the tee at a 63 percent accuracy rate. The South is known for being a tough course to hit the fairways and his efforts have him ranked second in Most Strokes Gained off the Tee at 1.07, only trailing Bubba Watson.
My fantasy league this week asked us to pick three golfers, using their combined money won this week to determine our winner.
Of course, I had to use Rahm – for the second straight week – and backed him with Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler.
Golf moves for NFL Conference Championships
Not wanting to knock heads with the two NFL Conference Championships, the PGA Tour smartly opted to move the tournament to the Wednesday-Sunday schedule.
An interesting side note is the Farmers is also the season debut for CBS’s golf coverage featuring lead announcer Jim Nantz. Nantz is also scheduled to be the lead announcer for the Cincinnati Bengals-Kansas City Chiefs NFC title game on Sunday.
Is there a conflict?
No! Nantz will call the final two rounds of the Farmers from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, site of the AFC game. Golf Channel will cover the first two rounds with CBS stepping in the final 36 holes.
Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the golf and the football!
By Dennis Miller