SoCal Golf INSIDER

champion Graeme McDowell. Players with Southern California ties who have committed to play include former champions Charley Hoffman (Poway High) and Pat Perez (Torrey Pines High), as well as Beau Hossler (Santa Margarita High), Kevin Na (Dia- mond Bar High), Cameron Tringale (Mission Viejo High) and Jamie Love- mark (USC). Jeff Sanders of Lagardere Sports and Entertainment, in his second year as ex- ecutive director of the tournament, is running the event as an "entertain- ment/golf festival," with an emphasis on making it fun and affordable for every- one. Single-day tickets are only $30, which includes access to all of the hos- pitality pavilions as well as free concerts after play on Friday and Saturday fea- turing Sammy Hagar and Bad Com- pany, respectively. "This year's Desert Classic is certainly going to attract the golf fan; we know that," Sanders said last month during a media day event. "But it's also going to be enjoyed by foodies and families and music lovers. . . . It's going to be golf at the highest level, but at the end of the day, we want to entertain our fans. We want to make sure that this ticket is probably the highest value ticket in sports." The Farmers Insurance Open will have an even stronger field, led by Woods, No. 13 in the world, and defend- ing champion Jason Day, world No. 14, who needed six playoff holes over two days to beat Alex Noren to become a two-time Farmers champion last year. Rose, Rahm (the 2017 Farmers cham- pion), local favorite Rickie Fowler (No. 9 in the world), Tony Finau (No. 10 in the world) and San Diego State alum- nus Xander Schauffele (No. 11 in the world) also have committed to play, as have Cantlay, No. 20 Marc Leishman, No. 27 Hideki Matsuyama and two- time Farmers champion Brandt Snedeker. Farmers one-day tickets are on sale online at farmersinsuranceopen.com /tickets. Adult tickets are $45, tickets for seniors 60 and over are $30, and youth tickets (ages 13-17) are $15. The third and final Southern Califor- nia event on the West Coast Swing is the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club (Feb. 14-17). Bubba Watson, three-time champion, will defend his title. Tournament proceeds benefit Tiger Woods' charitable foundation. ••••• RAHM'S NO. 1 HIGHLIGHT: For the second straight year, Spaniard Jon Rahm won three titles around the world: the PGA Tour's CareerBuilder Challenge (now Desert Classic) in La SMALL BUCKET SoCal GOLF INSIDER continued from previous screen continued on the next screen >> Woods is expected to make his season debut at the Farmers Insurance Open.

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