Lower than an hour earlier than the primary teams hit their opening tee pictures on the Farmers Insurance coverage Open, Will Zalatoris determined to tug out of this week’s occasion at Torrey Pines.
A cause for his withdrawal was not given.
Zalatoris is the newest star to skip out on this 12 months’s Farmers Insurance coverage Open. Collin Morikawa, Mackenzie Hughes, and Nicolai Højgaard withdrew on Sunday, whereas Akshay Bhatia did so on Monday. Not having Scottie Scheffler or Xander Schauffele as a consequence of accidents doesn’t assist both. 9 gamers have pulled out for the reason that PGA Tour launched the preliminary discipline final Friday, giving loads of alternates a lifeline.
Forty-two-year-old Ryan Moore, who performed on the 2016 Ryder Cup staff, initially changed Zalatoris on the final minute. However then Moore withdrew about an hour after Zalatoris did. Forty-seven-year-old journeyman Robert Garrigus changed Moore.
2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland additionally withdrew on the final second — after the primary teams teed off. No one has changed Woodland as of this writing.
Maybe the Wednesday-to-Saturday shift is the explanation why so many gamers withdrew. The American Specific, which is traditionally a birdie barrage within the Coachella Valley, wrapped up lower than 72 hours in the past. Or, possibly it’s as a result of Torrey Pines will probably host the Genesis Invitational in two weeks due to the wildfires surrounding Riviera Nation Membership in Pacific Palisades.
Torrey Pines South is a troublesome course — by far essentially the most difficult the tour has performed this season. It’s a grueling check, so it is smart that many high gamers would skip this week to relaxation for the Genesis Invitational, the third Signature Occasion of the season.
Two-time Farmers Insurance coverage Open winner Jason Day expanded upon this notion forward of the match on Tuesday.
“Possibly the gamers don’t desire a fast turnaround from [The American Express] in Palm Springs. And you’ve got the [AT&T] Pebble [Beach Pro-Am] subsequent week after which the [WM Phoenix Open] after which the Genesis. They’re three huge tournaments in a row, and do you need to play 4 huge tournaments?” Day stated.
“You’ve received to grasp that these are powerful golf programs mentally… Pebble’s clearly a Signature Occasion, and most guys aren’t going to overlook that. Waste Administration is a complete beast as a result of it’s a mentally grueling week as properly. Then you definitely’ve received one other Signature Occasion after that in L.A. So do you need to put your self by way of a really, very mentally grueling week this week after which play one other three occasions? I feel most guys’ thresholds are round three, two to a few weeks in a row.
“Possibly they may unfold it out a bit bit. Or change the way in which that the tournaments are run out on the West Coast; possibly which may assist a bit bit. Yeah, I feel the Wednesday begin, clearly ending on Saturday, after which competing towards the NFL could be very troublesome too.”
Tiger Woods used to play at Torrey Pines yearly, which robotically elevated this occasion into the higher echelon of tournaments on tour. He received there eight occasions, and since Tiger was there, different stars made it a precedence to play, too.
“It was the occasion to return to due to, you already know, not solely how huge the match was and what Tiger dropped at the occasion as properly, the crowds had been big,” Day added.
With no Tiger impact this week, the 2025 Farmers Insurance coverage Open discipline options solely 4 golfers within the high 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR): Hideki Matsuyama, Ludvig Åberg, Keegan Bradley, and Sungjae Im. That’s an issue for the tour because it continues to change its schedule to enchantment to followers and compete towards LIV Golf.
What was as soon as an early season staple has now turn out to be an after-thought in the course of the PGA Tour’s West Coast Swing. Zalatoris’ withdrawal — together with different stars — emphasizes that.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By way of. Comply with him on X @jack_milko.