Farmers Insurance Open 2019: Your course and current form guides

From the desert of Palm Springs to the rugged coastline of San Diego, the PGA Tour pitches up at Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open.

Over the past couple of decades the historic Torrey Pines has witnessed eight victories for Tiger Woods, including his most recent major championship success at the US Open 11 years ago.

The 43-year-old tees-up again this week for his first outing of 2019.

His most recent start in an official FedEx Cup event came at last September's Tour Championship, when he claimed a first victory in more than five years.

But it's not just about Tiger anymore, even if he still enjoys his fair share of attention from media and fans alike.

Main Men

Fourteen of the world's top-25 ranked pros have travelled here, including current No 1 Justin Rose who experienced a rare off-week at the Desert Classic in Palm Springs.

Talking of consistency, world No 10 Tony Finau - who last year finished runner-up in three FedEx Cup events - makes his first start of 2019, while Rory McIlroy takes on the challenges of Torrey for the first time.

Defending champion Jason Day has a strange recent record here. His last five starts read: Won-MC-MC-Won-2nd.

One golfer who is in impressive form right now is Marc Leishman. Four of his last five results, over a three-month period, have seen the Australian finish first-second-third-fourth - plus a tie-for-18th.

He has developed a reputation for playing well in coastal conditions, so this week should suit him. He is a two-time runner-up at Torrey where he tied-for-eighth last year.

And you certainly can't talk about this event without mentioning Brandt Snedeker whose five podiums include a brace of titles.

Finally, don't rule out Keegan Bradley whose victory during last year's FedEx Cup play-offs was his first success in more than six years.

The 32-year-old has a decent record in San Diego and is back inside the world's top 40.

Torrey Lowdown

Torrey Pines, situated around 16 miles north of downtown San Diego, is one of golf's most iconic venues.

As is tradition, the tournament will be staged over two courses - North and South - and both have undergone big changes since the turn of the Millennium.

Opened in 1957, the South Course was given a facelift by Rees Jones in 2001, while Tom Weiskopf made a number of modifications to the North 15 years later.

Changes made to the North include the following: The two nines have been reversed, so that the most scenic holes occur during the second half of the round.

The number of bunkers were reduced from 60 to 42, and repositioned to make them more strategic.

Greens were enlarged by approximately 20-30% per-cent, and are now around 6,400 square feet, while the original Poa Annua greens have been switched to Bent Grass.

As usual, the pros will play one round on each course on Thursday and Friday, with those making the cut contesting the final 36 holes over the tougher South Course at the weekend.

The two courses are laid out on a cliff top close to the Pacific Ocean, meaning weather conditions are usually a key factor in the tournament.

As for the South, further modifications have been made ahead of hosting the 2021 US Open.

This includes the relocation of greens closer to hazards, such as canyons, and the re-contouring of every putting surface to provide multiple pin placements.

The greens, which were converted to Bent Grass during the 2001 re-design, have now returned to being Poa Annua. They are also smaller than their counterparts on the North.

The average round score over the South Course is usually around two strokes higher than the North. Water is not an issue at either venue.

Twitter: Andy Swales@GolfStatsAlive

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List contains leading reserves