The return of Brooks Koepka is going to dominate the headlines, and I get it. Big name, big expectations, big questions. But if you are a real golf fan, you know what I am watching just as closely, Torrey Pines.
This week at the Farmers Insurance Open, Thursday, January 29 through Sunday, February 1, 2026, you don’t get to ease into your season. Torrey doesn’t do gentle. Torrey doesn’t care that you are shaking off rust. It asks a few things right away: Can you drive it, can you control your ball flight, and can you stay patient when pars feel like birdies?
That’s why Koepka coming back here matters. His last appearance at this event was in 2022, and he missed the cut. Since then he proved he still has the ceiling, he won a PGA Championship. But last year in the majors, he missed three cuts in four starts. On LIV, he had flashes, including a tie for second in Singapore, but the consistent heat was not there the way it was during that two win season in 2024.
Some of that, I chalk up to life. Becoming a new father changes everything. Your routine gets punched in the mouth. Sleep, training blocks, travel rhythm, all of it. His son, Crew, was born in 2023. Now that the little guy is a bit older, maybe Brooks has carved out a new routine that actually holds. If that routine is back, a week with PGA Tour buddies and that familiar competitive edge can light a spark.
Still, he picked one of the toughest places on the schedule to find out what he has.
Torrey Pines is a handshake with a brick wall
Torrey Pines has hosted majors for a reason. It’s long, it’s demanding, and it punishes the lazy swing. This week, the South Course is going to play over 7,700 yards every day. That number alone changes the math. Longer approaches mean more long irons, more hybrids, more shots from the rough, and more pressure on your short game when greens get missed in the wrong spot.
And here is the part most people miss: A long golf course tests decision-making. It tests whether you can accept a 25-footer for par without forcing a hero shot on the previous swing.
If you are watching at home, you can tell who is comfortable at Torrey by one thing, how they react after a good swing that finishes in a bad spot. This place does that. You hit what feels like a great tee shot, and you still end up in thick stuff with a flyer lie and a front pin. That is Torrey.
North vs. South courses
The North Course is back in the rotation this year, and that matters. The players get two rounds across the two courses, and the day you play the North is the day you have to take advantage. That is your chance to pick up shots without feeling like you are cheating the game.
But don’t get it twisted, even on the North, you still have to execute. The field is too strong to waste that round. The players who walk off the North with something under par are the ones who can breathe a little when they head back to the South.
On the South Course, you’re trying to survive without giving away doubles. You are trying to keep the big number off the card. That is why the par fives matter. Those holes are where the scoring average can slip under par. If a player turns the par fives into stress-free birdie chances, it changes the whole week.
Why Koepka’s return is so interesting
Koepka has always been a big stage guy, and Torrey has that major aura. The difference is that the aura doesn’t give you anything. You still have to drive it in play. You still have to hit the right section of the green. You still have to stay calm when the course hits back. This comes up again and again (we talked bout it recently with Vijay Singh’s return, too).
The question this week is simple. Does Brooks show up with the sharpness that makes him dangerous, or does Torrey expose the parts of his game that have been drifting, the missed fairways, the loose iron that finishes short side, the putt that starts to look heavy when you are grinding for par all day?
If he has rebuilt the routine and the confidence, this is the kind of place where he can remind everybody who he is. If the rust is still hanging around, this is also the kind of place that will punish it immediately.
The other names that should have your attention
Brooks is one player to watch. But, he’s not the only one. The tournament is stacked beyond that.
Xander Schauffele is coming in hot this year, fresh off a win at the Bay Current Classic back in October. When a guy has momentum like that, the biggest advantage is trust. He steps on the tee and knows the shot is there. At Torrey, that trust is everything.
Justin Rose missed the cut last week, but he fired a 63 on a Friday last year, and he tends to play well on difficult setups. Veterans who have seen every version of pressure usually handle Torrey better than you expect. They don’t get bored by par. They don’t panic when the birdies are not falling. They keep their head down and let the course wear other players out.
Keegan Bradley and Hideki Matsuyama both have a track record here when it comes to making cuts, eight for eight and nine for nine respectively. That is not luck. That is a profile match. These guys can deal with a big course. They can deal with the grind. They can deal with the feeling that you have to earn every single shot.
And when you stack that on top of the fact that 12 of the top 25 players in the world are in the field, you get what I love as a coach, a real test early in the year. You get a leaderboard that tells the truth.
Three things I’m watching
- Who stays patient when the course is loud. You’ll see good swings that don’t get rewarded, and you will see bad swings that somehow survive. The emotional control matters.
- Who takes advantage of the North Course. It’s the closest thing to relief this week. If a player wastes it, the South Course makes them pay later.
- Who wins the par fives without forcing it. The players who turn those holes into steady birdie chances take pressure off every other part of the round.
This is why I keep saying it, this is not your average Farmers. It has that major feel. It has the long course stress. It has the star power. It has the early-season curiosity that makes everybody lean in.
So yes, watch Brooks, because his return here is a real measuring stick. But also watch the course, because Torrey Pines is the main character every single year. The players just rotate through the story.
If you want more course management and tournament watching tips from our crew, you can find them at GolfSpan.
Clint is PGA-certified and was a Head Teaching Professional at one of Toronto's busiest golf academies. He was also featured on Canada's National Golf TV program, "Score Golf Canada," twice. He graduated with a degree in Golf Management from the College of the Desert in California and studied under Callaway's co-founder, Tony Manzoni. He has a handicap index of 6.2 and spends the winters near Oaxaca, Mexico, where he plays twice a month at the Club de Golf Vista Hermosa. He's written over 100 articles at GolfSpan since 2021. You can connect with Clint at LinkedIn, FB, his website, or Clintcpga@gmail.com.
