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SAN DIEGO — The weather was beautiful and the stakes were high Wednesday morning as a top-flight field of golfers got ready to tee off at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.

The tournament at Torrey Pines is following an unusual format this year, running Wednesday through Saturday for the first time, to avoid clashing with the NFL’s two conference championship playoff games on Sunday.

You can find a complete list of Farmers Insurance Open tee times on the PGA tour’s website. The first groups gets started at 9 a.m. Some notable tee times include:

  • Phil Mickelson at 9:30 a.m.
  • Patrick Reed at 9:30 a.m.
  • Jon Rahm at 10:40 a.m.
  • Xander Schauffele at 10:40 a.m.

The Golf Channel will carry the first round with a four-hour telecast, and you can stick with FOX 5 for updates on the tournament throughout the day Wednesday. You can still buy tickets online to attend the tournament; they range from $75 for early days of the Open to $350 for all-inclusive packages.

You’ll also have to pay for parking: $30 at the Del Mar Racetrack with a shuttle to the course Wednesday through Friday. It will cost $50 to use Scripps Lot B on Saturday, and you can also pay $50 to park at the Sanford Consortium any day of the tournament. There will also be free bicycle parking and an option to take a ride app, like Uber or Lyft.

For the thousands of people who are lucky enough to watch in person, fans will be asked to wear masks inside, but they will not be required outside and coronavirus vaccination cards will not be checked, according to the Farmers Insurance Open COVID-19 policies.

A field of 156 pros traveled to America’s Finest City for the tournament, including the world’s top-ranked player Jon Rahm, who is more than comfortable on the coastal course. Rahm occupies a prominent place in San Diego’s golf landscape — and he’s hoping to make it even bigger this week.

Two of Rahm’s six career PGA Tour victories occurred at Torrey Pines on these two gorgeous municipal courses — and both were landmark moments in his life.

He got the first win of his career at the Farmers tournament in 2017, and he seized his first major victory here in the U.S. Open last year. Rahm even got engaged in the area in 2018 while on a coastal hike with his now-wife, Kelley.

“It is a golf course that I love, (and) it’s a city that I love,” Rahm said Tuesday. “I have great memories all throughout my career here, my latest win being here as well. Just very excited to be here. It’s one of those weeks that I look forward to every year.”

Rahm secured his breakthrough victory on a stunning 60-foot eagle putt five years ago, becoming the first player to win in his Torrey Pines debut since Arnold Palmer in 1957. Rahm has three top-five finishes in his five starts at the tournament, which is in its 54th year at this famed course.

The biggest win of all occurred last June when he birdied his last two holes to storm past Louis Oosthuizen in the U.S. Open. Rahm was the first player come from behind in that fashion to win the Open by one shot — and he even did it on Father’s Day, with both his 10-week-old son and his own father in the gallery.

Rahm is essentially a San Diego local after spending ample time each year in “my family’s favorite city,” as he put it. His swing coach, Dave Phillips, lived here until recently, and his partners at Callaway are also based here.

And though he says he isn’t superstitious about his patterns in a town that’s been so lucky for him, he still has a routine he intends to keep. Rahm lit up as he described his plan to hit his favorite sushi restaurant and his favorite sandwich shop this week, along with near-daily stops at his favorite coffeehouse.

“A lot of times when I feel like I need a weekend without distractions, or I just come and practice, I will come and do that,” Rahm said. “We’re probably here once every two months. That would be at the very least.”