Justin time? Justin Thomas and Justin Rose commit to Farmers Insurance Open
This just in — the Farmers Insurance Open has added two more players to the field who bring with them fond memories of recent tournaments.
Justin Rose won the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open.
Justin Thomas shared the midway lead at last year’s Farmers.
Thomas and Rose — as well as fan favorite Rickie Fowler — were announced Tuesday as the latest early commitments to the 72nd annual tournament at Torrey Pines.
Rose has 10 PGA Tour victories, the most recent being the Farmers title four years ago. He finished tied for sixth last year at Torrey Pines, two strokes behind winner Luke List.
Thomas finished tied for 20th last year, though he was atop the leaderboard with Jon Rahm and Adam Schenk through 36 holes. It was the first Farmers appearance for Thomas, who won his second major last year at the 2022 PGA Championship.
The tournament’s four rounds will be played Jan. 25-28, with a Wednesday-Saturday schedule for the second straight year.
Thomas, No. 8 in the world rankings, is among four players currently ranked in the top 10 to commit to the Farmers — joined by Rahm (ranked No. 5), Xander Schauffele (No. 6) and Will Zalatoris (No. 7).
The early commitments also include four players ranked in the top 25 — Collin Morikawa (No. 11), Tony Finau (No. 12), Max Homa (No. 16) and Hideki Matsuyama (No. 21) not far behind.
Rose is currently ranked No. 77, though he typically fares well here. He has four top-10 finishes in his past five Farmers appearances.
Fowler, ranked No. 103, is looking for a change of fortune at Torrey, where he has missed the cut six times in the past 10 years. He has finished in the top 10 twice, most recently with a tie for sixth in 2013.
The Murrieta native remains one of the most popular players in the tournament.
Schauffele, who graduated from Scripps Ranch High and San Diego State, is another fan favorite.
His status could be in question after withdrawing from last week’s Tournament of Champions with a back issue.
Schauffele said he planned to get an MRI this week to assess the problem.
Grounds tickets for the first two rounds of the Farmers are $80 a day and $90 a day for the last two rounds.
More information is available online at farmersinsuranceopen.com.
Original article by Kirk Kenney on San Diego Union Tribune
