Coming off the heels of Thomas Detry’s masterful performance at the WM Phoenix Open, the Tour heads back to California for a “Signature” event, the Genesis Invitational, and the final event of the West Coast Swing. However, this will be no ordinary “Genesis” as the tournament was relocated from Riviera Country Club to the Torrey Pines South course following the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.
It is a very unique situation to have a course host two different PGA events in a span of three weeks. This is the 100th year of the tournament, which debuted in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open at Los Angeles Country Club. It has been played at 11 courses throughout Los Angeles over the years, though it has been primarily played at Riviera Country Club since World War II. Riviera has hosted all but two years since 1973. In 1983, it was moved while Riviera prepared to host the PGA Championship. Similarly, it was moved in 1998 when the course prepared to host the U.S. Senior Open.
Host of multiple U.S. Opens (including in 2021), the Torrey Pines South course is spread out on land occupied by an anti-aircraft battery during World War II and is one of America’s most scenic course layouts atop coastal bluffs north of San Diego with dazzling views of the Pacific Ocean.
With the course sitting adjacent to the ocean, coastal weather effects often dramatically impact play. It is a massively lengthy track – the longest annual Tour course in the rotation – stretching over 7,700 yards. As was just witnessed a few weeks ago at the Farmers Insurance Open during Harris English’s victory at only 8-under par, the course provides a strong challenge and forces players to use every club in their bag. “Long and straight” is not only a description for most holes on the course but also the type of strategy needed for success.
Even though it’s played at sea level, Torrey Pines typically plays even longer than the scorecard yardage due to softer fairways and the cooler winter air. Winning scores at this course have been 15-under par or less in 13 of the past 14 tournaments played here.
It’s also a “sticky” course when looking at the type of players who have success. Par will be a good score on a majority of the holes. With it being such a long track, bombers have a definite advantage. Yet the winners’ list has also been filled with elite scramblers and Poa putting specialists. Ideally, players who are long and accurate off the tee and who also excel with their short game, particularly on Poa greens, have the best chance for success.
The Field
The Genesis is among five PGA Tour events designated as an “invitational”, with a reduced field. As a “Signature” event the field has been shrunk even more and currently sits at 72 golfers. It is comprised of the top 50 finishers from last year’s FedExCup Standings and then rounded out by the “Aon Next 10” from last fall along with the current “Aon Swing 5”. Sponsor exemptions include Min Woo Lee, Jordan Spieth, Gary Woodland, and Rickie Fowler. Even with a limited-size field, there is a cut this week with the top 50 players and ties and anyone within 10 shots of the lead making it through to the weekend.
46 of the top 50 players in the world golf rankings will be in attendance including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, and Hideki Matsuyama. Despite reports of a possible return this week, world No. 2, Xander Schauffele needs more time to heal from a rib injury and will likely return during the “Florida swing”. Numerous golfers who just played here a few weeks ago return to Torrey Pines this week including Harris English, Hideki Matsuyama, Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala, Sungjae Im, and Keegan Bradley.
While not the best course for his legs due to its massive length, Tiger Woods surprised the golf world by announcing his full intention to compete this week at a place he has dominated over the past couple of decades.
Torrey Pines South – Course History
One of the most famous municipal golf properties in the country, Torrey Pines was designed by William Bell in 1957. Located at the previous site of Camp Callan, a U.S. Army installation, it was built on a tract of land with mountains to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
Since 1968, Torrey Pines has hosted the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open, which was originally known as the San Diego Open. During its first few decades, the South Course was around 6,850 yards. The South Course was first renovated in the late 1970s by local hero Billy Casper.
It was then completely redesigned by Rees Jones in 2001. Jones moved multiple greens, doubled the number of bunkers, added ten new tee boxes, and extended the yardage to a whopping 7,607 yards. He also brought several coastal canyons into play, namely on the 3rd and 14th holes. The goal was to make the course more competitive for the modern-day player. Jones’s efforts were rewarded as the course hosted the 2008 U.S. Open.
Again in 2019, Rees Jones completed another renovation of the South Course. Bunkers were shifted and refurbished on five different holes. Greens were repositioned closer to canyons to bring more of an element of danger into play. Jones also extended the course another 150+ yards. Two years after this renovation, the South Course was again awarded the U.S. Open in 2021.
Finish Position and Strokes Gained History at Torrey Pines South (2016-2025)
This includes the average finish position and Strokes Gained per round. Players are sorted by SG: Total. Torrey Pines South is the 11th most predictive annual course on Tour.
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Torrey Pines South – Course Features
Enormous length, narrow fairways, deep rough, criminally tough greens – these are just a few of the ways to describe the South Course. While mostly flat, at 7,765 yards, Torrey Pines is a monster and the longest on Tour. Winds off the coast can also severely hamper a round. Xander Schauffele commented about both of these factors. “It’s brutal. It’s mentally exhausting. The place is a hike. Just everything about it. When the wind picks up, you’re just worn out at the end of the day.”
Over the past five years, it has been the 13th-toughest course at -0.07 per round. Almost every metric is more difficult than average – from scrambling to fairways hit to GIR %.
From an agronomy standpoint, greens are Poa annua. Fairways and rough are ryegrass overseed. Torrey Pines is infamous for its thick penal four-inch rough. The course typically plays very firm, as Scott Bentley the Deputy Director Golf Division for San Diego remarked, “For the tournament, our goal is to really have dry conditions. We like the fairways to be firm and fast, and we like to see a bounce in the greens. We do expect the rough to be long and lush.”
Winners at Torrey Pines have typically fallen into two classifications – either bombers off the tee or players with elite short-game skills. From the bomber category, we have seen Luke List, Justin Rose, Jon Rahm, Scott Stallings, Tiger Woods, and Bubba Watson triumph. On the short-game side, harris English, Patrick Reed, Jason Day, Brandt Snedeker (twice), and Ben Crane. Interestingly, many of the bombers who have won also have quality short games.
This par-72 layout has seven par-4s that play over 450 yards and two par-5s that measure over 615 yards. Golfers must take advantage of the four par-5s as they are generally the only birdie holes on the course, and possibly the only holes that will play under par for the week.
While the setting on the coast is fantastic, there is a lack of compelling hole architecture throughout Torrey Pines. The South Course often is criticized for not “architecturally” standing out enough. Almost each of the Par-4 and Par-5 holes is seemingly a replica of itself. It is very straightforward. There are no tricks. What you see is what you get.
Strokes Gained Analysis
Off the Tee
With its massive length, narrow fairways, and 4″ rough, Torrey Pines presents a true challenge off the tee. Fairways are the fifth-narrowest on Tour at only 28 yards wide. Simply put, distance matters here, especially when considering the cooler January air and the thick marine layer combined with less roll from the fairways due to the moisture in the grass. This is evidenced by Driving Distance only averaging 293 yards even though players are pounding drivers on almost every par 4 and par 5. Carry Distance will also have a greater emphasis this week with the soft and wet conditions.
While Driving Accuracy is one of the most difficult on Tour at only 52%, the data shows that hitting fairways is not paramount to success at Torrey Pines. Overall, the penalty for missing the fairway is +0.33 strokes per hole. That ranks in the middle of the pack when analyzing the 80 ShotLink courses used on Tour since 2015. While the rough itself is penal, since the fairways are so narrow and the greens smaller than average, players will be missing both all week.
Since most players will be in the rough numerous times this week, it only makes sense that those who drive the ball farthest will have shorter iron shots and a better chance of holding the green. It is much easier for a “bomber” to hit a higher-lofted iron out of deep rough. Four of the past 12 winners ranked first or second for the week in Driving Distance. Furthermore, with only 1.6% of tee shots going out of bounds and zero water hazards, the bigger hitters have complete freedom to bomb away.
Approach
With the combination of penal rough, small elevated greens, and an average approach distance of 196 yards, getting your ball into position to score at Torrey Pines is very difficult. The GIR rate is around Tour average at 65%. This course produces the most approach shots from over 200 yards on Tour. In total, about 55% of second shots come from greater than 175 yards. Successful long-iron and fairway-wood play here is paramount to finishing high on the leaderboard. With the recent dry conditions, greens should be firmer this week which will make hitting greens more of a challenge this week.
While there are not many hazards to deal with on approach, just about every green complex has a pair of bunkers on either side. Shorter players off the tee who don’t find the fairway will experience an unfortunate trickle-down effect as they are left trying to hack their ball out of the rough followed by scrambling just to make par. Jason Day spoke about how challenging this part of Torrey Pines can be by saying, “If you’re not hitting fairways, the rough is so brutal that where the pins are tucked, you hit it to 30, 40 feet. If you miss a lot of fairways and you’re hitting it to 30, 40 feet, it’s very difficult to hole those putts. So, it’s just about just getting it on the green.”
Around the Green and Putting
The rough and trickiness of the greens is what has made short-game and scrambling prowess such a critical component to gaining strokes at Torrey Pines. Unless in one of the 82 bunkers, almost every around-the-green shot will be played from the thick 4″ rough. With so many greens being missed, saving par and avoiding bogeys is extremely valuable. The winners over the past decade are a testament to this and are full of elite scramblers including Patrick Day, Jason Day, and Brandt Snedeker. On average over the past two events, 13 of the top 16 players on the leaderboard have gained strokes around the green.
The South Course at Torrey Pines ranks as the toughest course on Tour in which to make putts inside 15 feet and also inside five feet. There are no “gimme” five-footers here. Greens will run around a 12.5 on the stimpmeter which is faster than average, and much quicker than speeds that players have seen in the first few events this year. While these greens lack undulation, the speed will be a huge adjustment for players on these slick Poa surfaces. With the Poa grass being very inconsistent and unpredictable, especially later in the day, certain players struggle mightily, with most citing it as their least favorite putting surface. Some, like Max Homa, grew up on this surface and thrive on it.
Most Important Stats For Success at Torrey Pines
*In order of importance
- Scrambling/SG: ARG (Rough)
- Total Driving
- SG: Approach
- SG: Putting (Poa)
- Bogey Avoidance
- Par 5 Scoring
- Proximity 175+ yds
- SG: Torrey Pines Course History
- Rough Proximity 200+
- SG: Long and Difficult Courses
Unique Rabbit Hole Filters
- Course Region: West
- Course Type: Coastal
- Scoring Conditions: Very Difficult
- Course Length: Very Long
- Field Strength: Very Strong
- Event Season: West Coast
- Greens Surface: Poa
- Greens Speed: Fast
- Greens Size: Small
- OTT Club Type: Driver Heavy
- Rough Penalty: High
- Rough Length: Thick
- SG: OTT: Difficult
- GIR Accuracy: Difficult
- SG: Putting: Very Difficult
- 3-Putt AVD: Difficult
Weather Forecast – La Jolla, California
