In years past, this marked the week golf season truly got under way.
That’s a moving target, of course. Greg Norman, in his heyday, liked to say the season didn’t really begin until the Florida swing. Then again, Norman’s West Coast portfolio was limited mostly to the Tournament of Champions and an occasional Pebble Beach appearance.
For a new generation, Torrey Pines brought Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson out of offseason hibernation. OK, preseason over.
This year, though, it feels like they’re late leaving the gate.
Maybe it’s the melding golf calendar in which the tournament-free window now lasts about as long as it takes to recite “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” More likely it’s about whom already grabbed a headline or two.
More Top Picks Best Whole Home Water Softeners For Hard Water For Residential
Martin Kaymer passed Woods for No. 2 in the world rankings, beating a marquee field to do it. Padraig Harrington and Camilo Villegas picked up DQs via TV (and Twitter). Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy took digs at The Players Championship.
Most of the fun has been taking place overseas. As for Tiger and Phil — well, we know cheeseburgers are back on the Mickelson menu.
The PGA Tour could use some good theater from one or the other — if for no other reason than to swing a little bit of the focus back on these shores. Even as new-generation talents such as Dustin Johnson and Hunter Mahan assert a greater presence, Woods and Mickelson still move the needle.
Woods has won his last five trips to Torrey Pines. Before his epic 2008 U.S. Open triumph, he captured four consecutive editions of what’s now the Farmers Insurance Open. He almost won the Chevron World Challenge seven weeks ago but blew a four-shot lead to Graeme McDowell.
Mickelson, meanwhile, hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish since last year’s U.S. Open. He was 37th last week in Abu Dhabi, showing plenty of rust.
With TV negotiations heating up later this year, it would help to have the needle-movers in top form — especially Woods.
“Having him return to the competitive level that he enjoyed for 14 to 15 years has a positive effect on the sport,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said. “That positively affects everything we do because he creates a lot of attention.”
Both Woods and Mickelson are multiple winners at Torrey Pines. Their final-day pairing in 2003 made good TV drama, mostly because Mickelson had needled Woods in a magazine piece for using “inferior equipment.”
Woods got his payback on the fairways, dusting Mickelson by six shots and everyone else by at least four.
It’s an important week for the PGA Tour. The European circuit has big-money stops upcoming in Qatar and Dubai, bringing Westwood, Kaymer and McIlroy back to center stage.
In that light, the PGA Tour season really wouldn’t begin until the Florida swing.