– Tomorrow marks the start of the Farmers Insurance Open, held at the North and South courses of Torrey Pines (San Diego, California). The South course, as is well known, hosts the two weekend rounds after all players have rotated through both courses during the first two days.
– The return of Brooks Koepka to competition in the PGA Tour, after his move to LIV in 2022, draws all the attention, as expected. And the fact is that the Florida native hasn’t exactly chosen the best place for such a high-profile appearance, if we consider his records in this tournament…
– Brooks made his debut at the Farmers in 2015, ten years ago, signing a remarkable card of 66 strokes on the North course and a not-so-remarkable 41st place finish in that edition. Neither of these achievements would be repeated or matched: he would play the Farmers on three more occasions and would never again play below 70 strokes nor make the cut. Incredible, but true.
– However, there is an important nuance to add: in the US Open played on the South course of Torrey Pines (year 2021, the one won by Jon Rahm), Koepka finished in fourth place with cards of 69, 73, 71, and 69. It seems obvious that Torrey Pines is not his favourite place in the world, but it is well known that this type of player usually elevates his abilities in the Majors.
– The last thing Koepka did in official competition was finish fourth in the Open de France and 15th in the Alfred Dunhill Links, events with which he closed a small autumn tour of four tournaments on the DP World Tour after completing his commitments in LIV Golf last year. These are certainly not bad results, but they are distant in time, making it very difficult to gauge in what competitive condition he has arrived in San Diego. To some extent, it would be surprising to see him in the final fight for victory… But only to some extent, as we are dealing with one of the best players of the 21st century.
– This week, the World Number One, Scottie Scheffler, is not present, but there is no shortage of illustrious names, starting with Xander Schauffele, who is the highest-ranked player present in the world rankings (6th) and who also begins his 2026 season this week. Additionally, half of the world’s top 20 and more than half of the top 50 (28/50) are gathered at Torrey Pines.
