At 48 years old and 25 years as a professional, Charley Hoffman has seen several generations of the PGA Tour, including the highs and lows of Tiger Woods.
The Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines was one of Woods’s favorite playgrounds during his heyday. He won the event seven times (1999, 2003, 2005-08 and 2013) and also won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey. But he last played the tournament in 2020.
Now, though, the Farmers field has weakened the past few years, partially due to its spot on the schedule and the inception of signature events, of which the Farmers is not one.
Hoffman, a San Diego native who is making his 27th Farmers start this week, was asked if he’s concerned about the state of the tournament and admitted there’s one factor that has impacted the event—along with the PGA Tour as a whole.
“The answer is I think the community of San Diego took for granted that Tiger Woods virtually showed up every single year at this event, the best player in the world, and competed to win almost every time he played here,” Hoffman said Tuesday. “We took it for granted. Now a lot of these tournaments, if you had Tiger Woods two or three times through the history of the event, they would be happy. We had Tiger Woods each and every year and we may have taken it for granted.”
Jason Day, who has won the event twice, has also noticed a different vibe at Torrey the past few years.
“Back when Tiger was playing and winning, what, eight of these, it was the event to come to because of not only how big the tournament was and what Tiger brought to the event as well, the crowds were huge,” the 37-year-old said.
So, without Woods, how can the Farmers get back to its glory days?
“If I had a crystal ball, I may juggle up the whole schedule,” Hoffman said, “not even play a West Coast Swing … maybe play Florida first and maybe play the West Coast maybe more in the summer when we all want to be in San Diego. If I was commissioner for a day, I would take a look at the schedule and just jumble it all up and say where should we start the PGA Tour season? Where is the best time to play these events and do we have to play the whole West Coast on the West Coast right after each other?
He added: “I don't think anything’s off the table on the PGA Tour when this event could fall and make it a better date.”
Hoffman, however, doesn’t believe players are shying away from the difficulty of Torrey (its South Course was the Tour’s ninth hardest course in 2024).
“Some people love the challenge and it may make those (signature) tournaments feel easier to them if they come out here and play well at Torrey Pines,” the four-time Tour winner said. “It just matters what you’re looking for and what you want. Tiger would always rise up to the challenge. He loved it here, he played here each and every year. He could pick any golf course to play and he chose here to play. It's just a matter of what you want.”
But whenever the Farmers—or any Tour event—is played, Woods, now 49 years old, likely isn’t teeing it up. Therefore, the sport is navigating life without the Big Cat.
“We’re in reality now with what every other city has to deal with without Tiger Woods or the best player in the world playing here,” Hoffman said.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Longtime PGA Tour Event Took Tiger Woods ‘for Granted,’ Veteran Player Says.