Wind wreaks havoc at Torrey Pines and stops play in the Farmers Open

This was not the Joel Dahmen we all know. On Thursday in the Farmers Insurance Open, the popular tour player who is easily recognizable because of his bucket hat looked like just your average pro. A normal golf cap was the headwear of choice because it had to be, with the Santa Ana winds consistently blowing at Torrey Pines up to 35 mph. Wearing a bucket had would put anyone in danger of being picked up and flying off the nearby cliffs, like the paragliders here.

“It’s wild,” Dahmen said during a brief walk-and-talk with Golf Channel’s Kira Dixon after he’d hit his drive into a wall of wind at the par-5 13th on the South Course.

“I don’t know I’ve been to Torrey with this much wind before. We have Santa Ana winds that are coming in from the east, and every now and then we get a switch off the ocean, which is a super strange day. Really difficult to play in.”

Only a half hour after Dahmen talked, at 2:05 p.m. PT, rules officials blew horns to stop play on both courses, and with no indiciation of when the wind might calm down, the players marked their balls and were transported back to the clubhouse. The delay eventually became about 90 minutes, with play resuming at 3:30 p.m. 

A more pressing concern for area residents started at around the same time as the horns blew, with alerts going out for a fire that started just south of Torrey Pines and the University of California San Diego. Evacuation orders were issued for the neighborhood south of Torrey, with the southwest direction of the wind likely sparing the golf courses from any immediate danger. As of 3:45 p.m., the fire was under control and was kept to two acres.

Dahmen could use the hole he was playing as an example of the dififculty. The 13th, with its tee set back near the edge of the cliffs, was officially set up at 599 yards for the first and second rounds—let’s call it an even 600—and Dahman said he hit a driver to barely cover the canyon at 225. Shotlink said his drive traveled 263 yards. He faced a second shot with a 3-wood or hybrid “just to have a chance. And you can’t play out of the rough here at Torrey,” he said. Dahmen did end up in the rough with his second shot, 100 yards short of the green and eventually made a double.

He was not alone. The 13th was playing 0.02 strokes above par in the second round after being 0.080 under par on Wednesday.

Oddly enough, the wind seemed to aid those golfers who were playing the usually harder South Course, with the North Course playing slightly harder at a 75.60 scoring average, compared to 75.37 for the South.

"The North Course, the greens are firmer and more slippery," Dahmen explained. "I think I'm happy playing on the South today."

All of Torrey’s holes are exposed to the wind, but those closest to the cliffs were the most affected. On the South the toughest holes were the par-4 fourth (0.40 over par), par-3 eighth (0.40), par-3 16th (0.44) and par-4 17th (0.47). The North had four holes more than a quarter-stroke over par—second (.47), fourth (.29), eighth (.27) and 13th (.38).