Tiger Woods: Torrey Pines and his Quest for a Ninth Win

Torrey Pines, a course known for its generosity to Tiger Woods, will be Woods’ first stop on his 2019 PGA Tour schedule. He’s an eight-time winner at the course, which includes his 2008 U.S. Open title (his most recent major, by the way). But his last few visits to Torrey Pines haven’t been so lucky. Will he turn it around in his first event of the season?

The past five years at the Farmers Insurance Open, a tournament Tiger Woods once dominated, have been less than ideal. Woods’ eight wins at Torrey Pines holds the record for most wins at a single course in PGA Tour history. But the ninth has proven to be the most difficult for the golfer to claim, with a mix of bad luck and misfires troubling his visits.

A Look Back

Trouble at Torrey Pines brewed in 2014. Coming off of a stellar win in 2013, a gruesome round of 79 prevented his advancement to the weekend. His return the next year was cut even shorter; Woods was 11 holes into his first round of 2015’s edition before withdrawing due to tightness in his lower back. Woods had undergone an operation for a pinched nerve after his 2013 win, and the 2015 withdrawal was one of many tournament withdrawals during Woods’ three-year battle with injury.

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Woods’ slew of operations and procedures had him skipping Torrey Pines altogether in 2016. He gave it a formidable go a year later. But a disappointing 4-over performance in 2017 led to another missed cut and Woods’ final event in the 2016-17 PGA Tour season.

He’d return in 2018 to make it to the weekend, but fell outside the top 20 with a T23 three-under finish. An improvement, surely, but nowhere near where he once placed at his beloved course.

Tiger Woods vs. The World

Torrey Pines South is the longest course on the PGA Tour schedule, clocking in at a steep 7,698 yards. Young Tiger Woods had no issue placing among the top in the leaderboards in driving distance, but an aged Woods isn’t averaging the distance he used to at his peak.

And the competition surely isn’t the same.

For reference: 2005 Tiger Woods averaged 316.1 yards in 76 rounds, second place on the PGA Tour. Reborn 2018 Tiger Woods averaged 303.6 yards in 68 rounds, T32 on the PGA Tour.

The numbers he had in 2018 would have had Woods in the top-15 in 2005.

Distance fiends such as Rory McIlroy and Tony Finau (who placed 1st and 4th in 2018, respectively) are among the challengers in this year’s field. For McIlroy, it’ll be his first time at the event. It’ll be interesting to see how it suits his current game.

The Trouble With Torrey Pines

The par-4s at Torrey Pines South are terribly unforgiving, most notably the 4th and 12th holes. The oceanside 488-yard 4th is struck by pervasive winds, and a tricky leftside green. The 504-yard 12th allows some wiggle room for aggression off of the tee with its lengthy fairway. The catch? The fairway aims right, but the green sits left, uphill, nestled between two sizable greenside bunkers.

Granted, Tiger’s first full event on the 2018 PGA Tour schedule was the Farmers Insurance Open. Despite it being his most recent outing, it’s not the best sample to reference. His game had changed dramatically throughout the course of the season. For instance, Woods made a mid-season return to his trusty Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport 2 putter.

The switch meant the renowned all-too-familiar clutch Woods was back.

His most impressive stat of the season? 3rd in strokes gained fairway-to-green. The challenge at Torrey Pines exists in the small size of the greens. Even so, accurately nailing those grueling par-4s could be a cinch once again if Woods remains consistent.

Woods’ return to form has evidently shown the golf world that there’s plenty left in the tank. Though the long absence of a favorable Torrey Pines showing may haunt him, the campaign for win number nine isn’t quite over.