IN times of crisis, people do what they have to: they pull together, shrug off inconveniences, and think of the greater good. So it is with this week’s Genesis Invitational, a tournament usually hosted by the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Pallisades, Los Angeles but this year relocated to Torrey Pines in San Diego because LA, and specifically the area around Riviera itself, was devastated by bush fires last month.
Making such a late alteration to the schedule was, as you might expect, far from straightforward. The organisers needed to find a course that could test a Signature Event quality field, one that could rapidly assemble a tournament superstructure, a membership (or similar) that would acquiesce to a week (or more) of no golf, and facilities in and around the property that could quickly accommodate the players, caddies, officials, media, hangers-on and all manner of other folk connected to the professional golf circus.
Ultimately, Torrey Pines, host of last month’s Farmers Insurance Open, got the call and the San Diego Union-Tribune has reported how it more or less boiled down to one question: could two hotels, The Lodge and the Hilton, pull out all the stops? You see, it is these two establishments that provide the locker rooms, player registration and dining, drug testing, weather officials, media facilities, and more. “In short,” wrote the newspaper, “no Lodge, no Hilton, no tournament.”
The good news is that the two agreed to take on the task, but even then, the project was immense. Ticketing, sponsorship packages, catering, and much, much more besides needed sorting in rapid time, but ultimately everyone recalled why all this was happening: because a lot of people in Pacific Palisades and nearby had been left bereft rather than merely put out. With all that in mind, there will be a sense of all for one and one for all about this week, not least because the PGA Tour circus is rarely less than conspicuous about charitable works.
And, for all the very good deeds, there will also be a few narrowed eyes, gritted teeth, and pursed lips about the return to the South Course at Torrey Pines because, while it is a layout good enough to regularly welcome the US Open, it is ranked third of the Californian coastal courses used at the start of every PGA Tour year. True, all three have pesky Poa Annua grass on the greens, but Riviera is a superior design, Pebble Beach is more beautiful, and both are more storied.
Since the creation of Signature Events – and the proliferation of them early in the schedule – it has become more straightforward for players to dodge the Farmers Insurance Open if they don’t like the layout. This late twist has, of course, somewhat rumbled those plans, and it’s a dynamic that demands consideration.
Think of Patrick Cantlay, who has 12 top 25 finishes in 18 starts at Riviera and Pebble Beach but only one (T15) at Torrey Pines in five visits. It came in the US Open but in four January starts he’s never made the top 50. He’s not the only quality player to have struggled. Sam Burns has one finish better than T40 (T18) in six starts, and Corey Conners was T29 on debut but his results have regressed with every return since. Cam Davis is 0-for-6 at finishing top 30, Ben An has a best of T49 in four visits (and didn’t head back this year after closing the 2023 tournament with an 83), while Mackenzie Hughes was the 54-hole co-leader in the 2021 US Open but his closing 77 was on a par with his Farmers efforts (seven starts, not one of them top 25).
It’s a rum business and there is potential for a fly in the ointment when using the record book this week because it’s not entirely out of the question that the course is conditioned to provide some sort of distinction with the Farmers. That said, the simple fact that there will be four, rather than three, rounds on the South Course might be deemed sufficient difference. In short: it’s a very long track, it’s going to rain, and it could be a real slog.
Each Way – Sungjae Im
The Korean’s first four appearances at Torrey Pines all reaped weekend finishes but no top 10. Since then, he’s turned it up a notch, finishing sixth in 2022 then fourth in both 2023 and last month. Four of his seven third-round efforts on the South Course have been sub-70 and he’s broken par in his last three final rounds there. He’s a fine performer on tough tracks (including Bay Hill, Quail Hollow and Muirfield Village) so he won’t be afraid to dig deep.
Each Way – Jason Day
The Aussie’s best golf is a very neat for this test. He won the Farmers Insurance Open in both 2015 and 2018, was second in 2014, third in 2022, and has a total of seven top 10 finishes. In fact, no less than 18 of his 40 career starts in California on Poa have reaped top 10 finishes, so he’s in a sweet spot and was T13 at Pebble at the start of the month.
Each Way – Akshay Bhatia
The 23-year-old Californian made his major championship debut at Torrey Pines back in 2021 and fared well in making the cut. When he returned to the course as a PGA Tour member, he improved to T13 and he was T22 at Pebble Beach two weeks ago. He made a fast start with a 66 last week and has it in him to maintain the pace this week. He’s also a winner on Californian Poa albeit up Tahoe Mountain (at high altitude) rather than by the ocean.
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