For the PGA Tour, the Farmers Insurance Open has been an eye-opener. The mere number of withdrawals before the tournament should be the cause for concern for Jay Monahan and co., with Jason Day noting before the Farmers Insurance Open that the scheduling from the PGA Tour committee needs to be much better, as it is giving players very little rest. And now, the bad gets worse, as the Torrey Pines Golf Course sees more withdrawals during tournament play.
Back in 2017, similar to this, the Memorial Tournament was hit with a spate of big-name withdrawals before the competition started and Jack Nicklaus, the founder of the PGA Tour event, had some things to say that hold true even today.
Jack Nicklaus’s words ring true seven years later
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Top golfers like Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, and Paul Casey had withdrawn due to injury before the 2017 tournament, leaving Jack Nicklaus concerned. “You think I had any injuries when I played? Do you think Arnold [Palmer] had any injuries when he played? Do you think Gary [Player] had any injuries when he played? How many tournaments do you think that we entered that we withdrew from during the course of our career?” The 18-time Major winner stated then while indicating with his hands to signal zero. For the old guards like Palmer, Player, and Nicklaus, golf was not just a game, it was a way of life. And it was something they could not be without.
“Never entered if I wasn’t going to play,” Nicklaus had added. The former PGA Tour pro was pretty candid that if he was going to play fans would be expecting to see him on the field. His absence meant that a lot of paying supporters would miss the chance to see him in action and he would not want that to happen to any fan of his.
The Farmers Insurance Open was hit with a flurry of withdrawals, before the start of the tournament. Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele had long-term injuries to deal with and were the first to remove their name from the hat. Collin Morikawa had cited illness while the likes of Nicholai Hojgaard, Akshay Bhatia, Mackenzie Hughes, Chesson Bradley, Tyler McCumber, Gary Woodland, Bronson Burgoon, Harry Hall, and Will Zalatoris all joined the list of withdrawals before the first tee off at the Torrey Pines Golf Course.
And the cherry on top of the proverbial sundae was the withdrawal of Ryan Moore, who was brought in as a replacement for Will Zalatoris.
According to Jack Nicklaus, withdrawals have become “pretty much the norm today“, attributing some of the withdrawals to the allure of money. It does concern the Farmers Insurance Open as the Torrey Pines Event is placed on the calendar precariously next to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational. The two are signature events on the course with a purse of $20 million each at their disposal compared to a $9.3 million purse at the Farmers Insurance Open.
So it makes sense for players, to rest and recover for the juicier fight that comes later down the line.
“Would they withdraw back 30 years ago? Probably not, because that wasn’t the norm,” Nicklaus stated then. “We played through it. We had a ton of injuries and I played through it. But that’s sort of the norm today. And the guys … I made my own decisions. I didn’t have an entourage. I didn’t have a fitness trainer. I didn’t have a nutritionist, whatever you all have, somebody to cut my toenails in the morning.” Nicklaus had clarified.
via Getty Jack Nicklaus shares problems he faces due to colorblindness | Courtesy: Getty Images
And that also holds true. Golf now is not the golf then. A player on the course has his team of coaches to support him. This entourage could consist of a caddie, a swing coach, a short game coach, a putting coach, a mental game coach, a statistician, and so on. A game known for individual battles has slowly been converted to one of teamwork, collective decision-making, and collaborative effort.
The veteran does understand the decision-making process that goes behind such a problem. “I think that entourage helps make that decision for the player, telling them, ‘We think physically this is probably not right for you to play.’ And that’s what their job is,” the four-time US Open winner added.
And it is probably these kinds of decisions that were being made during the Farmers Insurance Open 2025, as the event saw five more withdrawals during the event, the latest coming in the form of Max Homa.
Mid-tournament withdrawals spring surprise at the Torrey Pines
Before Round 1 at San Diego, Braden Thornberry had announced his withdrawal, with no reasons being communicated. Day 2 had strong winds affecting the play to a severe extent on the course, which led to the round being suspended for a 1-hour 26-minute period. The strong weather had a say in the flow of the game, as low scores were hard to come by during the second round, with most players shooting above par.
It was at this point when the play was suspended that Max Homa, who was at a 9 over par for the tournament, decided to call it quits. He was eight shots above the cut line and the weather conditions were not likely to improve. He joined Hayden Buckley and Nate Lashley, the group of players to withdraw before completing the second round, and was duly joined by Emiliano Grilo, to shockingly make it a total of 17 withdrawals for the competition.
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Homa has had a horrible outing at the Torrey Pines Golf Course, going 5-over par during his first-round outing on Wednesday. He had started his tournament with a triple bogey, an indication of things not going to go his way. With adverse weather conditions, a cut line that looked dauntingly impossible, and an approaching signature event at Pebble Beach, the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open had likely taken a call considering the bigger picture. The likes of money, rest, and convenience all come into question, eerily similar to what Jack Nicklaus had to say seven years ago.
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Do you think Jack Nicklaus’s words hold even more significance as the times move ahead?