Tournament: Farmers Insurance Open – Torrey Pines GC (South), San Diego, CA
Hole: 4th – Par 4, 488 Yards
Architect(s): William F. Bell – 1957
Rees Jones (redesign) – 2001

Architectural Summary:

The fourth hole at Torrey Pines’ South Course is a lengthy par four that plays along the scenic ocean cliffside. The 488-yard hole will require an accurate, well-struck tee shot in order to set up scoring opportunities. From the tee, competitors will look to play to the right side of the fairway, challenging the two bunkers to the right of the landing area, to achieve the optimal angle into the green. Players will look to avoid missing left where overly errant shots may have to contend with the sheer cliffside. A number of Torrey pine trees have recently been removed from the left side of the fairway to further open up the hole, making shots more susceptible to the winds blowing off the Pacific Ocean. Should the right-to-left sloping fairway be successfully found, a mid- to long-iron will be left into the generously sized green. For competitors finding the fairway bunkers off the tee, a layup will be required and leave a short iron or wedge to the putting surface. Approach shots will likely favor the right side of the green to avoid the single greenside bunker located short-left and take advantage of the undulation and slope of the green surround to feed the ball towards the center of the putting surface. Challenging recovery shots from below the green will be required for any competitors long or left on the approach. The green measures 31 yards deep by 25 yards wide and slopes from right-to-left towards the ocean cliff with a plateau located on the front-left quadrant. Overall, par will be a good score on long par four that emphasizes shotmaking from tee to green.

Statistical Analysis:

During the 2017 tournament, the 4th hole played to a scoring average of 4.22 (31 Birdies, 191 Pars, 74 Bogeys, 10 Double Bogeys, and 2 “Others”).

Fun Facts:

• Prior to becoming a world-class golf course, Torrey Pines was home to Camp Callan, a World War II training base. Following the base closure in 1945 following the war, the decommissioned base became a racecourse until 1956.
• Jon Rahm, a two-time PGA Tour winner and 2017 Farmers Insurance Open champion, has the chance to become world number one with a successful defense of his title. Should 23-year-old Rahm prevail, he would become #1 after just 44 PGA Tour starts.