Prior to the start of the Farmers Insurance Open, a number of big names withdrew from the event at Torrey Pines, including Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Akshay Bhatia and Will Zalatoris.
It now means only five of the world’s top 20 will be present in San Diego and, given that the tournament was dominated by seven-time winner, Tiger Woods, some have questioned the magnitude of the event since the Hall of Famer was strolling its fairways.
Woods won the Farmers Insurance Open seven times, including four times on the bounce from 2005 – 2008
(Image credit: Getty Images)
A two-time winner of the Farmers Insurance Open, Jason Day is a big fan of the tournament, as well as being a good friend of Woods’, but acknowledges that the popularity of the event in Torrey Pines has reduced over time, claiming “it’s unfortunate.”
Speaking in his press conference on Tuesday, the former Major winner stated: “Back when Tiger was playing and winning, it was the event to come to because of not only how big the tournament was, but what Tiger brought to the event as well, the crowds were huge. But with that being said… I’m very loyal to this area, I’m very loyal to this golf tournament. I love this area, I love the people here. I also love the golf tournament and I love the golf course. I’ve had a lot of good memories here so that’s why I’m very loyal to this place.
“I don’t want it to get to a point where we’ve just kind of forgotten about it because to me, personally, I think of like the wins that Tiger won, like even myself and what that felt like. I remember when I won the playoff against J.B. Holmes on the 16th hole and we were driving back and there were just lines of people down 18 like yelling out, and I feel like the crowds have gotten a little bit less since then.
“It’s unfortunate, but I’m hoping that we can change that. I don’t know how to change that and give you an answer other than I feel like I’ll always be back here. I’ve missed some years, but I definitely will always support this tournament.”
Day and Woods were paired together for the first two rounds of the event in 2017
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Another player to speak about the impact of Woods is Charley Hoffman, who is making his 27th appearance in the tournament. Having been present for over three decades, the four-time PGA Tour winner claims that the reason for the loss of interest in the event stems from the fact that “the community of San Diego took for granted that Tiger Woods virtually showed up…
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