The Farmers Insurance Open is an annual professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

tournament on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

, held in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. Founded in 1952, the tournament has been held at

Torrey Pines Golf Course Torrey Pines Golf Course is a 36-hole municipal golf facility in University City, a community of San Diego, California. The course sits on the coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, just south of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. Opened ...

, a 36-hole municipal facility in

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

, since 1968. The tournament is held in the early part of the season known as the "West Coast Swing". The tournament is organized by

the Century Club of San Diego The Century Club of San Diego is a San Diego–based charitable organization, established in July 1961. They are the organizers of the Farmers Insurance Open, an annual PGA Tour golf tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course, solely for charitable pur ...

. In the current format, players split the first 36 holes between the North and South Course, then play the final 36 holes on the South Course. The South Course has hosted the U.S. Open twice:

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

won in a playoff in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, and

Jon Rahm Jon Rahm Rodríguez (born 10 November 1994) is a Spanish professional golfer. He was number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a then record 60 weeks and later became world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, first achiev ...

won in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

History

Founded in 1952 as the San Diego Open, the first two editions were played at San Diego Country Club in

Chula Vista Chula Vista ( ; , ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh-most populous city in Southern California, the 15th-most populous city in the ...

. In 1954, the tournament was played at

Rancho Santa Fe Rancho Santa Fe is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California, United States, within the San Diego metropolitan area. The population was 3,156 at the 2020 census. The CDP is primarily residential with a few shopping blocks, ...

Golf Club, which had hosted the Crosby Pro-Am prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Although the San Diego Open began in 1952, the PGA Tour recognizes two earlier events of the same name:

Leo Diegel Leo Harvey Diegel (April 20, 1899 – May 5, 1951) was an American professional golfer of the 1920s and early 1930s. He captured consecutive PGA Championships, played on the first four Ryder Cup teams, and is a member of the World Golf Hall o ...

won both events, in December 1927 and January 1929. An autumn event in 1956 and 1957, it was not held in 1958, then returned as a winter event in early 1959. The event was played at Mission Valley Country Club in 1955, then went to Singing Hills Country Club in

El Cajon El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, lit. 'the box') is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was named for the box-like shape of the valley tha ...

in October 1956. The tournament returned to Mission Valley C.C. in 1957, where it stayed through

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

. Mission Valley changed its name to Stardust Country Club in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

(now Riverwalk Golf Club). After one edition in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

at Rancho Bernardo Country Club (now Rancho Bernardo Inn) in San Diego, it returned to Stardust for three years, through

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

. In

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, the event began its present relationship with

, a 36-hole public facility owned by the City of San Diego. During those early editions at Torrey Pines, the course length was under . Singer-actor

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

was the celebrity host for the first 21 editions at Torrey Pines, through

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. Title sponsors were first added in 1955, with

Convair Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, was an American aircraft-manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee ...

added to the name for two years. In 1981,

Wickes Wickes Group plc is a British home improvement retailer. It is the second largest home improvement retailer in the United Kingdom, behind B&Q. Whilst open to the general public, its sales of supplies and materials are predominantly orientate ...

was the title sponsor for two years, followed by three with

Isuzu , commonly known as Isuzu (, ), is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines ...

Shearson Lehman Brothers Shearson was the name of a series of investment banking and retail brokerage firms from 1902 until 1994, named for Edward ShearsonBuick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...

in 1992 and Farmers Insurance in 2010. Since

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, it has started on Wednesday and concluded on Saturday, a day prior to the conference championships of the

NFL playoffs The National Football League (NFL) playoffs is the annual single-elimination tournament held to determine the National Football League, league champion. The four-round tournament is held after the league's regular season. Since the 2020 NFL seaso ...

; the event traditionally marks the beginning of CBS's PGA Tour season. The South Course has hosted the U.S. Open twice:

won in a playoff in

, and

birdied the final two holes to win by a stroke in

Winners

''Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.''
Sources:

Records and trivia

*Tournament course record: ** Torrey Pines, North Course - 61, Mark Brooks, 1990, and

Brandt Snedeker Brandt Newell Snedeker (born December 8, 1980) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the 2012 FedEx Cup with a victory in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Following this victory, he moved into the top t ...

, 2007; ** Torrey Pines, South Course - 62,

, 1999 *

is the only seven-time winner of the tournament, and

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970) is an American professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters ...

the only other to win more than twice. *Hall of Famer and San Diego native

Gene Littler Gene Alec Littler (July 21, 1930 – February 15, 2019) was an American professional golfer and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Known for a solid temperament and nicknamed "Gene the Machine" for his smooth, rhythmical swing, he once sai ...

is the only amateur winner, achieving the feat in 1954, and awarded a five-piece tea set. Subsequently, as a professional, Littler was a runner-up three times (1969, 1974, 1978). *A memorable year in the tournament's history was 1982, when

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ran ...

outdueled

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

to win by one stroke. *

(2005–08) won four straight years, then won his fifth consecutive Torrey Pines tournament at the 2008 U.S. Open on the South Course that June. ** J. C. Snead (1975–76) and

(2000–01) won in consecutive years. *Heavyweight boxer

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

was invited to play in the San Diego Open in 1952 on a sponsor's exemption; **Louis became the first African American ever to play in this PGA Tour event.

Notes

References

External links

*
Coverage on the PGA Tour's official site
{{coord, 32.903, -117.245, display=t, type:event PGA Tour events Golf tournaments in California Sports competitions in San Diego Recurring sporting events established in 1952 1952 establishments in California