LA JOLLA — After his record-setting performance in a dominant win at this year’s Farmers Insurance Open over the weekend, professional golfer Justin Rose said the San Diego area has grown increasingly comfortable to him over the years, citing an affinity for the region’s coffee shops, food and beach culture.
“Obviously, the golf course stands up to any golf course we play on tour,” Rose said. “The North Course is such a great complement to the South Course. The views are spectacular. It’s the kind of place you play on a week like this, and you’re like — do you stop to smell the roses?
“Sorry to throw that one in there, but you do look around and go, ‘Wow, this place is special.’”
After bouncing around other local courses, the PGA Tour has held an annual stop at Torrey Pines Golf Course since 1968. The tournament was previously hosted and sponsored by entertainer Andy Williams and Michigan-based automaker Buick before Farmers Insurance became the title sponsor in 2010 amid the fallout from General Motors’ 2009 bankruptcy, according to San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Now, Farmers Insurance — whose home offices are in Los Angeles — has announced it will not return as event sponsor for the 2027 season, according to Golf Digest.
The tour also faces broader uncertainty as longtime PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan prepares to hand over responsibilities to incoming CEO Brian Rolapp during the final year of Monahan’s contract.
An early signal of that transition was Rolapp’s implementation of the Returning Member Program, which allowed five-time major winner Brooks Koepka to return to the PGA Tour from the Saudi-backed LIV circuit.
Koepka told reporters at the Farmers tournament last week that he enjoys La Jolla and was eager to return to Torrey Pines, which he described as “challenging” and “iconic.”
“It’s obviously a tough golf course,” Koepka said. “It’s fun to play, but it’ll really give me an idea of where my game’s at.”
Part of Torrey Pines’ appeal is its accessibility and deep ties to the community. San Diego residents can play the South Course for $73 during the week and the North Course for $51, according to the city’s website.
The only other municipal course that hosts a PGA Tour event without ties to the tour’s in-house TPC network is Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, which was redesigned by acclaimed architect Tom Doak, with input from Koepka.
Houston residents can play at Memorial Park for $30 during the week.
By comparison, tee times at TPC Scottsdale — host of the Waste Management Open — start at $399, while rounds at Kapalua’s Plantation Course, typically the season’s opening stop, cost $475 at standard rates.
Like several early-season tour events, the Farmers Insurance Open is contested on multiple courses to accommodate limited daylight.
During the 2025 season, the South Course measured 7,765 yards, making it the longest course on tour, and played to the second-highest stroke average relative to par, according to PGA Tour data. Only Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, the site of the U.S. Open won by J.J. Spaun at 1-under par, played more difficult.
Spaun — the world’s seventh-ranked golfer and a San Diego State University alumnus — has competed in the Farmers Open every year since earning his PGA Tour card in 2017, saying Torrey Pines is “near and dear to my heart.”
“This is my 10th season, my 10th start. I’ve never missed this tournament,” Spaun said during a pre-tournament news conference. “It’s one of those spots in the schedule that I always make sure I come to.”
Beyond its length, the course’s thick rough poses a major challenge. Spaun said, “Getting off the tee is a big hurdle because the rough is really intense and thick,” while Koepka described the grass as “quite juicy.”
Veteran tour pro Tony Finau said the greens were firmer than he typically sees this time of year, noting that Torrey Pines’ putting surfaces usually play that fast only during U.S. Opens in June.
“If you’re not hitting the fairway, you’re not going to have birdie looks,” Finau said.
Joel Dahmen led the field in fairways hit at 75%, well above the tour average of 52%, per tour data. He rode that accuracy to a tie for seventh place after entering the field as an alternate.
Trailing Rose heading into Sunday, Dahmen joked that he “would be pleased with second place” given how his competitor was playing.
“My only hope is if he doesn’t set his alarm or he somehow starts hitting the rough on the back nine maybe,” Dahmen said.
Rose’s 23-under-par finish set a tournament record, topping Tiger Woods’ 22-under mark from 1999 and his own 21-under score in 2019. He also set tournament records for lowest scores after 36 and 54 holes.
At 45, Rose became the oldest winner of the event.
Rose led the field in strokes gained on approach shots on both Friday and Saturday, according to Data Golf. While shots are not tracked on the North Course, Rose shot a 10-under 62 in his lone round there.
Scoring conditions improved in 2026 compared with 2025. Defending champion Harris English improved on his previous 8-under winning score by finishing 10-under this year, tying for 22nd place. Even so, only the par-5 holes on the South Course played to a stroke average under par on the back nine, underscoring the course’s difficulty.
English said Wednesday that Torrey Pines “is one of my favorite places on the tour to come to,” likening the course to a chess match.
“The back nine is pretty special out here,” English said. “You have 10, 11, 12 — three of the hardest holes in a stretch on the PGA Tour.”
He called the 13th hole a demanding par 5 from the back tees but said it can also play as “an awesome hole, good risk-reward hole” from forward boxes.
“I really love 14 — that’s probably my favorite hole out here,” English said. “The backdrop of the valley behind the green — that’s kind of Torrey Pines to me.”
English also addressed the tournament’s uncertain future and its host venue.
“I would hate for it to go away,” he said. “This is one of the cornerstone events on the PGA Tour. I’ll do anything as a PGA Tour member — a past champion — to help find a sponsor to help keep this tournament here at Torrey Pines.
“It’d be a shame for us to lose this event. So I’ll do anything in my power to help keep it here.”
