Tiger's Return: Will He Roar At The Farmers Insurance Open?

Tiger Woods has a storied history with the Farmers Insurance Open, which is an annual professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour held in San Diego, California, at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Notably, Woods has won the tournament a record seven times, with his first victory in 1999 and his last in 2013. In 2018, Woods announced his return to the Farmers Insurance Open, marking his first start on the PGA Tour in a year. This generated a lot of excitement and buzz among fans and players alike, as Woods is considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. Woods has an impressive record at Torrey Pines, with eight career wins at this course. However, in 2024, Woods was notably absent from the tournament's field, although his legacy loomed large as competing players shared their favourite stories and memories of Woods at Torrey Pines.

Tiger Woods' 2018 debut at the Farmers Insurance Open

Tiger Woods made his 2018 debut at the Farmers Insurance Open, an annual professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, California. This was his first official PGA Tour event since the previous year's tournament, where he had missed the cut.

Woods' return to competition was highly anticipated, especially after his 10-month layoff due to spinal fusion surgery. In the lead-up to the 2018 Farmers Insurance Open, he had competed in an 18-man exhibition and the Hero World Challenge, where he finished tied for ninth.

The Torrey Pines course holds a special significance for Woods, as it is where he won the 2008 U.S. Open for his 14th major title. Woods is also the only seven-time winner of the Farmers Insurance Open, with his victories spanning from 1999 to 2013.

In the first round of the 2018 tournament, Woods carded an even-par 72 on the challenging South Course. Despite a rocky start with a bogey on his first hole, he responded with an impressive 51-foot putt on the sixth hole and showcased some vintage Tiger moments throughout his round. Woods finished the day seven shots behind the clubhouse leader, Tony Finau, who carded a 65 on the North Course.

Woods expressed his excitement about being back in competition and acknowledged the support from the fans at Torrey Pines. He also acknowledged the need to improve his putting and short game, aiming to make incremental improvements throughout the tournament as part of his recovery process.

Woods' eight wins at Torrey Pines

Tiger Woods has won at Torrey Pines eight times. Here is a breakdown of each of those wins:

1999 Buick Invitational

Tiger Woods claimed his first Torrey Pines triumph in 1999. Despite only just making the cut, Woods flew up the leaderboard with a Saturday course record of 62. On Sunday, he stuffed a 176-yard 9-iron to within a few metres of the cup on the 18th and then drained the eagle putt to win by two shots.

2003 Buick Invitational

In 2003, Woods entered the Buick Invitational with a delicate left knee, having recently had surgery to remove fluid from it. However, he still managed to triumph over his closest challenger, Carl Pettersson, by four shots, with back-to-back 68s over the weekend.

2005 Buick Invitational

With this victory, Woods tied Phil Mickelson's record for the most Buick Invitational tournament wins. Woods barely made a bogey all week, and comfortably took the win by three shots over Tom Lehman, Luke Donald, and Charles Howell III.

2006 Buick Invitational

Tiger's fourth Buick victory was a scrappier affair. Battling a misbehaving big stick and a cold putter, he needed to birdie the treacherous par-5 18th to force a playoff with Jose Maria Olazabal and Nathan Green. Olazabal blinked in the playoff, tweaking a short putt, and the title went to Woods.

2007 Buick Invitational

Woods started the final round of the 2007 Buick Invitational two shots back from the overnight leader, Brandt Snedeker. After a slow start, he caught fire, bagging a birdie two on the par-3 8th and then eagling the 9th to top the leaderboard for the first time in the tournament. He closed out with a cluster of birdies to register his fifth career victory at Torrey Pines.

2008 Buick Invitational

The 2008 Buick Invitational was a watershed tournament for Woods. Playing some of the best golf of his career, he swept past a stumbling Troy Matterson, posting a record-breaking 19-under par total and triumphing over his nearest opponent by an unprecedented eight strokes. This was Woods' fourth Buick Invitational win in a row.

2008 U.S. Open

In 2008, Woods also won his third U.S. Open title in a thrilling Monday playoff duel with long-shot Rocco Mediate. Playing with stress fractures in the tibia of his left leg and torn ligaments in his left knee, Woods grimaced, limped, and staggered through five days of golf to join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the career Grand Slam three times over.

2013 Farmers Insurance Open

Woods' first win at Torrey Pines in five years saw him lead by as much as eight with five holes to play. Despite losing patience with slow play and starting to lose shots, he still closed with an even-par 72 for a four-shot victory. This was Woods' 75th PGA Tour victory.

The 2020 Farmers Insurance Open without fans

The 2020 Farmers Insurance Open was held at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, California, from January 28 to 31. The annual professional golf tournament, which is part of the PGA Tour's "West Coast Swing", was played without fans due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the Century Club of San Diego, the nonprofit organisation that operates the event, said:

> We recognize that COVID-19 requires dramatic modifications to the operations of our annual event. We have been working closely with the PGA Tour as well as the county and city of San Diego in our planning. The safety and well-being of everyone affiliated with the Farmers Insurance Open and our community remains our top priority. While we will certainly miss the energy our fans bring to Torrey, we remain focused on delivering a PGA Tour competition that showcases the best players in the game set against the backdrop of one of the most storied courses in the world.

The tournament was won by Australian Marc Leishman, who took home $1.35 million in prize money from the $7.5 million purse. Leishman defeated 2017 champion Jon Rahm by a single stroke.

Tiger Woods, a seven-time winner of the event, was also slated to play in the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open. Woods has a storied history with Torrey Pines, having won eight times at the course throughout his career, including his last major championship triumph in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Woods' 2024 Farmers Insurance Open absence

Tiger Woods, famously associated with the Farmers Insurance Open, was absent from the 2024 tournament. Woods has won the event seven times, with an eighth victory at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Woods' absence from the 2024 tournament was notable, with several competitors sharing their favourite memories of Woods at Torrey Pines in the build-up to the event. Max Homa, for example, recalled skipping school to watch Woods play, while Keegan Bradley recounted his "Welcome to the PGA Tour" moment, which involved Woods creating a buzz among the crowd.

Michael Kim, a Torrey Pines High School graduate, also shared his memories of trying to recreate Woods' famous shots, particularly the putt on the 18th hole that won him the U.S. Open.

With Woods' notable absence, the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open took on a different identity. The tournament was won by Matthieu Pavon, who became the first Frenchman to win on the PGA Tour.

Woods' 2017 injury at the Dubai Desert Classic

Tiger Woods has had a long history of injuries and surgeries, with his back being a consistent source of trouble. In 2017, Woods was attempting a comeback to the PGA Tour after multiple back surgeries and a 15- to 16-month layoff. His first event back was the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, where he missed the cut.

The following week, Woods competed in the Dubai Desert Classic. On the first day of the tournament, Woods carded a five-over-par 77, failing to make a single birdie. He looked out of sorts and was in visible discomfort, struggling to find a rhythm. He bogeyed the par-five opener after finding a bunker, dropped another shot at the 12th, and his approach shot on the par-five 18th fell short and rolled into the water for his third bogey. He needed 33 putts to complete his round, and his swing and putting stroke looked rusty.

After the round, Woods attributed his poor performance to his inability to read the greens and adjust to the conditions. He stated that he wasn't in pain and that he was just trying to hit shots, but the damage had already been done. Woods found himself tied for 121st after the first round, 12 shots behind the leader, Sergio Garcia.

The next day, Woods withdrew from the tournament before the start of the second round due to back spasms. His manager, Mark Steinberg, reported that Woods had undergone three and a half hours of physiotherapy that morning but couldn't get the spasms to calm down. Woods himself said he felt terrible about having to pull out of the tournament. This withdrawal cast doubt on Woods' future in the game, as it was the fifth time he had pulled out of a tournament in the past 19.

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