Farmers Insurance Open: Saturday's Final Round A Treat For Golf Fans

The Farmers Insurance Open is usually held from Thursday to Sunday like most other PGA Tour events. However, the 2022 tournament was held from Wednesday to Saturday, and it looks like this might be the model every year going forward. This is to avoid competing with the NFL for viewers, as the AFC Championship Game is aired on CBS, which is also the primary broadcaster for the Farmers Insurance Open.

The tournament usually falls during the bye week of NFL football

The Farmers Insurance Open is usually played during the bye week of NFL football, between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. This scheduling decision has been intentional, as the tournament organizers want to avoid competing with the NFL for viewers.

However, in 2022, the NFL expanded its regular season to 17 games, which shifted the postseason schedule by a week. This change meant that the NFL Conference Championship games would occur on the same Sunday as the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open. To prevent a conflict, the tournament was moved to a Wednesday-to-Saturday schedule instead of the usual Thursday-to-Sunday format.

By starting the tournament on Wednesday and ending it on Saturday, the Farmers Insurance Open avoids overlapping with the NFL Conference Championship games, which are also broadcast by CBS, one of the tournament's major broadcast partners. This scheduling adjustment ensures that the golf tournament doesn't have to compete for television viewers and can maintain its relationship with CBS.

The Farmers Insurance Open is one of the early-season stops on the PGA Tour and is typically played in January at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California. The tournament attracts some of the best golfers worldwide, and past winners include golfing icons like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Tiger Woods.

The NFL expanded to a 17-game season in 2022, pushing back the postseason schedule

The Farmers Insurance Open final round is usually played on a Sunday. However, in 2022, the tournament was played from Wednesday to Saturday. This was because the NFL expanded its season to 17 games, pushing back the postseason schedule by a week. The NFL's expansion of its season was the first since 1978, when the league expanded from a 14-game schedule to a 16-game schedule. The NFL used the 16-game slate for 43 years before expanding again.

The NFL added the extra game to increase revenue and "grow the game". The expansion was made possible by new media contracts with companies like Amazon, CBS, ESPN/ABC, Fox, and NBC. The new deals total more than $100 billion, nearly doubling the amount of the expiring contracts.

The expansion to 17 games caused several changes to the NFL's schedule. Firstly, the preseason schedule was shortened, with each team playing three preseason games instead of four. Secondly, the regular season was extended by a week, pushing back the playoffs and the Super Bowl by a week. The Super Bowl was played on February 13, 2022, instead of February 6. Additionally, the symmetry of the schedule was disrupted, with some teams having nine home games and eight road games, while others played eight at home and nine away. This gave the teams with more home games a slight competitive advantage.

The Farmers Insurance Open is usually played on the off week between the NFL's conference championship games and the Super Bowl. However, with the NFL's expanded schedule, the conference title games would fall on the same day as the final round of the tournament. As the tournament is broadcast by CBS, which also airs the AFC Championship Game, the PGA Tour opted to move the tournament to Wednesday-Saturday to avoid any conflict with its broadcast partners.

The NFL Conference Championship games would fall on the same day as the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open

The Farmers Insurance Open is typically played on the weekend between the NFL Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl. However, in 2022, the NFL expanded to a 17-game regular season, which pushed back the postseason schedule by a week. As a result, the NFL Conference Championship games and the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open would fall on the same day.

To avoid conflicting with the NFL, the Farmers Insurance Open was rescheduled to a Wednesday-to-Saturday format instead of the usual Thursday-to-Sunday format. This decision was made due to television broadcasting rights, as CBS airs both the AFC Championship Game and the Farmers Insurance Open. By moving the tournament to Wednesday-Saturday, the PGA Tour ensured that their event would not compete for viewers with one of their major broadcast partners.

This rescheduling also created a rare Saturday finish on the PGA Tour, with the final round of the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open taking place on Saturday, January 28, at Torrey Pines in California. The tournament typically draws many of the best golfers in the world, and the 2023 edition featured five of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking.

The NFL Conference Championship games are typically played on the last Sunday in January. For example, in 2025, the AFC and NFC Championship games are scheduled for Sunday, January 26. This date would overlap with the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open if it were to be held on its usual weekend.

The PGA Tour changed the tournament schedule to avoid a conflict with one of its major broadcast partners, CBS

The Farmers Insurance Open is typically played on the weekend between the NFL's conference championship games and the Super Bowl. However, in 2022, the NFL expanded to a 17-game regular season, which pushed back the postseason schedule by a week. This meant that the NFL Conference Championship games would fall on the same day as the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open, creating a conflict for broadcasters, CBS, who air both events.

The Farmers Insurance Open is usually one of the first golf broadcasts of the year for CBS, and the tournament has been played on the weekend between the NFL's conference championship games and the Super Bowl for decades. With the change in the NFL schedule, the PGA Tour was faced with a decision to either compete with the NFL for viewers or change the tournament schedule to accommodate its broadcast partner.

Opting for the latter, the PGA Tour decided to start the tournament on a Wednesday and end it on Saturday, avoiding any overlap with the NFL Conference Championship games. This decision was made to maintain a good relationship with CBS, one of its major broadcast partners, and to ensure that golf fans could still enjoy watching the tournament without having to choose between the two events.

This change in schedule meant that the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open was the only PGA event that year to start on a Wednesday and finish on Saturday. Tournament CEO Marty Gorsich indicated that this might become the model for the tournament going forward. Indeed, the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open also took place from Wednesday to Saturday, with the final round being played on Saturday, 28 January.

The Farmers Insurance Open is the first golf broadcast of the calendar year for CBS

The Farmers Insurance Open is one of the PGA Tour's marquee events of the "West Coast Swing". It is one of the most exciting regular-season PGA Tour events, thanks to its host course, Torrey Pines, and Tiger Woods' incredible record of seven wins at the course, including his epic 2008 U.S. Open triumph.

The tournament typically draws many of the best golfers in the world. In 2023, world No. 3 Jon Rahm headlined a field that featured five of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking and 10 of the top 25.

The Farmers Insurance Open is usually played from Wednesday to Saturday, as opposed to the standard PGA Tour schedule of Thursday to Sunday. This is to avoid conflicting with the NFL, as CBS also airs the AFC Championship Game.

By playing the tournament from Wednesday to Saturday, the PGA Tour opts to avoid any conflict with one of its major broadcast partners.

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