SAN DIEGO — While the scheduled Wednesday through Saturday playing of last year‘s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines was originally met with some disappointment and skepticism—and then it nearly went into Sunday when the playoff between winner Luke List and Will Zalatoris ran late—there wasn’t ‘t a lot of complaining on the players’ end.
The NFL conference championship games forced the move because of television conflicts, and with only two practice days and no pro-am, the golfers seemed perfectly happy to have an abbreviated week and another Sunday off.
Count Justin Thomas among them.
“It was incredible, I got to watch football on Sunday,” he said on Tuesday. “I was ecstatic about it. Even so much so that I pushed the tour that we did it during the entire playoffs because I love football and I love watching football.”
Thomas, who tied for the 20th in the Farmers last year, was joking about the schedule, of course. The Farmers have the only Saturday finish on the tour, and that’s not going to change. The Century Club of San Diego has apparently adapted, selling out most of its hospitality, and the players seemed to have adjusted to competing one day early.
“It’s easy for me,” Thomas said. “I’m not playing the previous week, so I just come in Sunday versus Monday. The weirdest thing is just actually out of habit—the [usual] cut’s after Friday, the final round’s Sunday, so it’s just little things that you’re saying. It’s like when you’re playing a course that’s rerouted or when they change East Lake [for the Tour Championship]everybody always says [hole] 5 is 5, but it’s really 14 now … little things that don’t make a difference.”
Xander Schauffele, the World No. 6 who played in The American Express last week