Why Is the PGA Tour Unconventionally Ending on a Saturday at the Farmers Open This Week?

Schedules and timing are vital parts of any sport. In the sport of golf, tradition is everything. The sport has stuck to various norms over the years. Fans now recognize those norms as the foundation of the sport. One example is that it begins on Thursday and concludes on Sunday. The majority of PGA Tour events take place over four days. They all begin on the fourth day of the week and end on the last. All except one, that is. The Farmers Insurance Open.

This week’s tour event, the Farmers Open, surprises viewers with a Wednesday start and a Saturday finish. The weird schedule of the tournament has many fans wondering about the reason for the change. And why just the one event? Let’s find out.

The clash of the PGA Tour and the NFL

The Farmers Open has been played for over 70 years. The event is played in San Diego, California. Since 1968, it has been consistently played at the Torrey Pines Golf Courses (North and South). Till 2021, the event followed the regular Tour schedule of beginning on Thursday and ending on Sunday, but all that changed last year. The reason: the NFL.

For many years, the Farmers Open held a prestigious spot on the PGA Tour schedule. Its dates featured the week off between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. But in 2022, as per the San Diego Union Tribune, the NFL decided to expand its regular season to 17 games. This in turn also pushed the entire schedule back a week, causing the two conference title games to be played on the Sunday of the Torrey Pines event.

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To avoid competing with the NFL’s ever-important games, the tour and broadcaster took the only logical course of action available. They pushed for the tournament to be played a day earlier. Thus, since 2022, the Farmers Insurance Open has been the only PGA Tour event to finish on a Saturday. And the trend continues this year also.

Who are the favorites to win the Farmers Insurance Open in 2023?

13 of the top 20 world-ranking players are among the 156 players competing in the 4th Tour event in 2023. This includes the likes of Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, and Collin Morikawa. The defending champion, Luke List, also competes alongside them.

While all of them are keenly looking forward to grabbing a win, the rest will undoubtedly make it difficult. If Rahm does manage to take home a win, he will also have won three consecutive events in which he competed. He won the Sentry TOC at the start of this month, and also won the American Express last week.

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Who do you think has the best chance at the title? Let us know in the comments below.