The hits keep coming for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. 

Before they were scheduled to tee off Wednesday in San Diego, Will Zalatoris and Gary Woodland withdrew from the event. Zalatoris was replaced by 2016 Ryder Cupper Ryan Moore, but then he pulled out and was replaced by Robert Garrigus. The Tour did not immediately announce a replacement for Woodland when he withdrew. 

There have now been 11 withdrawals since Sunday, beginning with Nicolai Højgaard and Collin Morikawa, then followed by Tyler McCumber and Mackenzie Hughes. Akshay Bhatia, Chesson Hadley, Harry Hall withdrew on Monday and Bronson Burgoon pulled out on Tuesday. 

Morikawa withdrew due to flu-like symptoms according to the Associated Press, but the Tour did not offer a reason for the other withdrawals. 

Next month, the Tour is reportedly set to return to Torrey Pines for the Genesis Invitational, which is being moved from Riviera Country Club in the walk of the Los Angeles-area wildfires. 

Perhaps players don’t want to play the same course twice in a month. Or maybe it’s that the ensuing three events are some of the Tour’s premier stops: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, WM Phoenix Invitational and the Genesis Invitational. Pebble Beach and the Genesis are designated events, while Phoenix always attracts a loaded field. 

“Maybe the players don’t want a quick turnaround from [The American Express] in Palm Springs,” Jason Day said Tuesday at Torrey Pines. “And you have the Pebble next week and then Waste (Phoenix) and then the Genesis. They’re three big tournaments in a row, and do you want to play four big tournaments?” 

Playing the difficult Torrey Pines twice in a month, however, could be an advantage. 

​​“I think it could be,” defending Farmers champion Matthieu Pavon said Tuesday. “It’s just that when you're facing tough golf courses, I feel like the more you play on them, the more comfortable you get. The fairways are much tighter than most of the fairways we play all year. The greens are definitely firmer this year, the rough is thick, so why not play it two times? I think it’s probably a great warmup for an even bigger tournament which might be in like 15 days.”


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Will Zalatoris, Gary Woodland Add to Rash of Withdrawals from Farmers Insurance Open.