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“Stars Come Out at Torrey Pines”

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The PGA tour is back in town-lucky us.

The beauty of Torrey Pines will be on display for the entire snow-bound, frost-bitten nation to see this weekend, as the Farmers Insurance Open tees off on Thursday.

Tiger Woods, and his remarkable comeback story will attempt to write the 2019 chapter to his amazing accomplishments of last summer and fall.

Rory McIlroy is making an appearance, foregoing early tourneys in Europe.

Jordan Spieth, once red-hot, former World number one Jason Day, headline the field. Ricky Fowler, this year’s top seed Justin Rose, and hot young star Xander Schauffele are here too.

Phil Mickelson is bypassing the tourney, so is Dustin Johnson, but the cavalcade of stars, are ready to take on the North Course, then fight thru the South Course.

Practice round day Tuesday. Pro Am Day Wednesday. Off the tees early on Thursday.

Lots to cover, and lots of press conferences.

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Jason Day had a spectacular couple of years, as the Aussie built up wins and top 5-finishes over a 2-year span. He was ranked number 1-in the world. Then injuries, then illness, then a fall from the top of most Sunday leaderboards. He covered that, Tiger Woods, and his game when he met with the media.

..Tiger Woods comeback…was not surprised..I looked at his swing…him limping around…could see pain on his face…it was an unbelievable comeback. ..Not easy to recreate your game after all the surgeries…Rebuild your power game off the tee…understand your mechanics may need to be different….I could see him build-build-build….1st he’d play….then he’s compete…now he’s out to win tourney…he is mentally in now….I played a practice round with him last year and I knew he was ready to win…I saw the progression and he killed it at the Tour Championships…Now you see him and he feels he can win every week…it’s the old Tiger.

..Phil Mickelson..He’s so lovable here..will be strange not to see him here…I understand him bypassing this-he has such a large West Coast schedule

..Injuries and illness…I understand the injury factor…your career has an arc-you reach it-it doesn’t stay at that level forever…I practice a lot-both on range and green so that leads to wear and tear….When you don’t have success-you lose confidence….You have to make sure you don’t attach yourself to negatives around you….You work thru the bad times…having good people around you helps…You work hard-you get worn down…you have to work your way thru it…What you did in 2015 does not carry over to the following years….I’ve seen Tiger and Phil go thru this…Must be patient.

..Players go thru plateaus…now guys like Jordan Spieth are having a downturn…..He’s too good a player-too mentally strong to not work his way out of it…Just focus on being Jordan and the pressure goes off…We all fight out own little battles

..Torrey Pines…The North course is easier;…The South course makes up for it…you understand that going in…it is a US Open course.

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Xander Schaufele has come out of nowhere, from San Diego State, to being an overwhelmed rookie on the tour…to leading rounds…staying in the top 10…moving to the top five…and winning on the tour.

..I try not to get caught up in the pressure of it all, who I’m paired with-what the leaderboard says.

..I had to learn how to play at this level because four rounds is exhausting….

..It can be crushing to go against the class of players on this tour and to be with players you looked up to for years.

..I try to stay away from distractions….when I feel pressure-I look out onto the ocean…and tell myself to be patient and have fun…

..You know when Phil-Tiger are on the course-you can hear the roar.

..When you play in Tiger’s group-there is a buzz around him the entire day.

…Playing at this level, it’s a learning curve. The light bulb went on a year ago for me…I can compete…I can hang with the big dogs…but it’s a year long process…..you need a special focus-not get rattled.

..You pick courses to play you feel comfortable on…that’s why guys are repeat winners here at Torrey…this course fits them…..you learn the shots off the tee…putts on the green.

..What I’ve learned that golf is so much risk-reward ythruout the course of an entire tournament

..Winning the Sentry in Hawaii-I learned about picking the holes that were risk-reward…You do it based on where you are on the leaderboard.

..I’m no Phil Mickelson but I would I lean more towards risking shots.

..Great to be paired in Tiger Woods group….don’t want this to become a zoo-will block some things out…just need to do my own thing….no meltdown Thursday-Friday…I feel like an underdog-I’ve never made the cut here…I made the cut here in the World Juniors…Two wins early on this tour-hope to keep this trend going

..Playing with Tiger-Phil feels like crashing a class in college….as a rookie you’re there and not sure you have any idea of what you are doing.

..Augusta-Masters-what a special experience-it’s history amazing.

..British Open…different type of golf and course-wow. I was there for first time last year-now I have to prove I can hang with them in Europe.

..Love to play in my hometown.

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