Golf Glance: Last gasp for signature spots at Torrey Pines

Justin Thomas hits out of a bunker on his approach to the 18th green of the Pete Dye Stadium Course during Round 3 of The American Express at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024.

Credit: Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

The PGA and LPGA tours conclude their seasons this week with the final two official tournaments of 2023 among major North American golf tours.

PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: The American Express (Nick Dunlap)
THIS WEEK: Farmers Insurance Open, San Diego, Jan. 24-27
Course: Torrey Pines Golf Course, South Course (Par 72, 7,765 yards); North (Par 72, 7,258 yards)
Purse: $9M (Winner: $1.62M)
Defending Champion: Max Homa
FedEx Cup Leader: Chris Kirk
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Wednesday-Thursday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Friday, 3-5 p.m. (GC), 5-8 p.m. (CBS); Saturday, 2-4 p.m. (GC), 4-8 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Wednesday-Thursday, 11:45 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Friday-Saturday, 12-8 p.m.
X: @FarmersInsOpen
NOTES: The event is contested from Wednesday-Saturday to avoid a conflict with the NFL playoffs and is one of four on the PGA Tour schedule that is contested on multiple courses. After players alternate on the two courses for the first two rounds, the final 36 holes are played on the South Course … The top five players in the Aon Swing 5 standings after this event will earn a spot in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the second signature event of 2024. The current top five are Grayson Murray, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Justin Thomas, Kevin Yu and Carl Yuan. No. 6 is Michael Kim, a Torrey Pines High School graduate making his eighth event start this week. … Dunlap withdrew on Monday and is considering whether to accept PGA Tour membership or return to the University of Alabama, where he is a sophomore. … Former DP World Tour stars Ryan Fox and Adrian Meronk will make their first starts as PGA Tour members. … Farmers will reportedly end its runs as the title sponsor when its contract expires after the 2026 event. … Tiger Woods (1999) and George Burns (1987) share the tournament scoring record of 266. Woods holds the 18-hole South Course record of 62 set in the third round in 1999.
BEST BETS: Xander Schauffele (+900 at BetMGM) has the longest active streak on tour with 36 consecutive cuts made dating back to the 2022 Masters. He finished T13 at Torrey Pines last year but is still seeking his first stroke-play title since the 2022 Scottish Open. … Collin Morikawa (+1000) finished third last year and won just three starts ago at the Zozo. … Max Homa (+1100) has won four of his six PGA Tour events in California and has eight top-10s in his past 11 starts in his home state. … Patrick Cantlay (+1200) is seeking to rebound from a T52 at the AmEx following a T12 at The Sentry. … Keegan Bradley (+3000), who finished runner-up to Homa last year, is coming off a playoff loss to Murray at the Sony Open. … Sahith Theegala (+3300) finished T4 last year. He has been sporadic, posting a win and a solo second along with a pair of missed cuts in his past five starts.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Pebble Beach, Calif., Feb. 1-4

LPGA Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: Tournament of Champions (Lydia Ko)
THIS WEEK: LPGA Drive On Championship, Bradenton, Fla., Jan. 25-28
Course: Bradenton Country Club (Par 71, 6,557 yards)
Purse: $1.75M (Winner: $262,500)
Defending Champion: Celine Boutier
Race to the CME Globe leader: Lydia Ko
TV: Thursday-Friday, 12-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 2-4 p.m. (GC), 4-5 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 2-5 p.m. (GC)
Streaming (Peacock): During all televised windows.
X: @LPGA
NOTES: This is a 72-hole, stroke play event with a 120-player field that will be cut to the top 65 and ties after 36 holes. … Boutier beat Georgia Hall on the first playoff hole last year, when the tournaments was played at the Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club in Arizona.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Honda LPGA Thailand, Siam Country Club- Pattaya Old Course, Thailand, Feb 22-25

PGA Tour Champions
LAST TOURNAMENT: Mitsubishi Electric Championship (Steven Alker)
THIS WEEK: OFF.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Alker
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Chubb Classic, Naples, Fla., Feb. 16-18

LIV Golf League
THIS WEEK: OFF.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Mayakoba, Mexico, Feb. 2-4

–Field Level Media

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