Aberg Takes The Genesis At Torrey Pines
Win comes after falling ill at the same course last month. Plus, Niemann wins in Adelaide, clarifying McIlroy's remarks, LPGA slow play. and rough start for Tour's remote broadcast future.
Ludvig Aberg captured the Farmers he should have won weeks ago if not for the Golf Gods, who decided he ought to experience rustic hues no person wants to see. But a month later and 10 lbs lighter, this Farmers was a relocated-from-Riviera Genesis Invitational featuring “Signature” event perks over a suffocatingly dull Torrey Pines.
It didn’t have to be this way.
A wildly unimaginative course presentation effort offered some different hole locations and slower greens than last month after high winds forced a play stoppage. But the rough grew thicker after rain belatedly arrived. Tees were essentially in all of the same spots. Little effort was made to present a Riviera-like exam where intelligence and angles prevail over fortune. Instead of say, flyer lies created by lower rough, we got hack-out stuff along silly-narrow fairways and the leaderboard randomness that comes with such setups. For three long days this one felt like it would isolate the best putter and least unlucky golfer. Hardly the indicator of forthcoming Masters success that Riviera annually provides.
But, and there is a but. I am pleased to report my two deepest naps of the West Coast Swing took place during the eight days of 2025 play at Torrey Pines. You know the genre of siesta I worship? Where you wake up wondering what day it is, what planet you’re on, and what is that inane chatter in the background that must be stopped? Pure bliss.
Thanks to all who helped make my afternoon sleep dreams come true.
Anyway, the Genesis grew somewhat interesting on Sunday thanks to Maverick McNealy charging an hour ahead of the final pairing. But Aberg’s final round 66 featuring four birdies in the final six holes and an impressive two-putt birdie at the 18th saved this one. Sweden’s Aberg gave the PGA Tour its sixth international winner in seven 2025 events and, if nothing else, the week at least provided evidence that the usual Masters contenders are playing decently enough (as long they didn’t injure themselves hacking out of the silly stuff).
“I felt like I had a good chance of winning [the Farmers] but wasn't really feeling like myself the last couple days,” Aberg said of his nightmarish January. “I don't like pulling out of tournaments, but I felt like I had to at Pebble just to give myself some time to recover and be ready for this one. Sort of knowing how last week was at home, basically a little bit of survival mode, but to come here to win this event is really special.”
Aberg’s win reverses a rough start to 2025 as he prepares to defend his 2024 Masters runner-up finish. Following a T5 at The Sentry, Aberg WD’d from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am while still ailing from whatever lovely pathogen he and several other players experienced at Torrey Pines (T42).
The final day started with Patrick Rodgers leading and offering some incredible synergy with tournament host Tiger Woods given their shared Stanford tournament victory total (at 11, with McNealy the other all-time Cardinal leader).
McNealy also continues to play some of the planet’s best golf. His RSM Classic win and five top 10’s since November were only interrupted by January’s T52 at Torrey Pines. And now, McNealy has a second-place finish in a signature event after coming up one stroke short.
“It's really fun when the ball's coming off exactly like you want, when you're standing over a putt and you feel like it's just going to go in,” the 29-year-old said. “It's one of those things you get on a roll, you know it's going to come to an end at some point but you just want to extend is as much as possible.”
During Saturday’s third round, Aberg collected his first PGA Tour hole-in-one with a 140-yard pitching wedge at the third. Instead of the traditional Genesis for player and caddie, the carmaker will make a $10,000 donation to California Rises. Given Aberg’s low-key tendencies and non-Signature event dining preferences, the champion planned a modest celebration of his second PGA Tour win.
“I feel like this is my last day on the West Coast for quite some time, so I think In-N-Out would be appropriate.”
While the golf might have been tough to watch at times, the week was a tribute to various behind-the-scenes operatives from San Diego and TGR Live who put on the short-notice event moved due to January’s Palisades and Eaton Canyon fires. Host Tiger Woods acknowledged the effort during an in-booth visit with Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman.
“This has been a community effort, all of San Diego has come together to make this happen,” Woods said. “Southern California was under some very dire times and I consider San Diego part of SoCal, so to keep the event in SoCal and be able to raise over $8 million, Genesis is donating every single car this week. So we're trying to help all the people that have been struggling and will continue to struggle because of the fires.”
Also…
Aberg made 19 birdies and two eagles and led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (10.0).
Aberg impressively overcame a first round 74, the highest by an eventual winner since 1983 when the event was played at Rancho Park.
Scottie Scheffler (T3/-9) followed up a third-round 76 with a final-round 66 to record his second top-10 in three starts this season. The world No. 1 said he’s likely to be seen next at Bay Hill and The Players.
A Rory McIlroy chip-in joined the Golf Channel Playing Through Hall of Shame.
McNealy is hoping to win a PGA Tour board seat by becoming co-chair of the Players Advisory Council and will be campaigning on the need for paternity leaves. (Schupak/Golfweek)
After a T4 at the WM Phoenix Open in his second start back from wrist surgery, three-time major champion Jordan Spieth missed the cut and reported some pain. “It’s been a tough week on the wrist,” Spieth said. “I wasn’t sure if I’d hit one more shot like my shot on 16 yesterday, I wasn’t going to finish the first round. I was OK to go today, but this cold, wet weather and third week in a row, it was not good for it.”
Players wore a special pin in honor of the late Tida Woods on Sunday.
During Saturday’s CBS show lead analyst Trevor Immelman broke down the swing of Burbank Fire Department Captain Kyler Sauer, a former U.S. Mid-Amateur champion semi-finalist. Of particular note: how well Sauer’s Golftec “numbers” matched players in this week’s field.
Niemann Wins In Adelaide
Joaquin Niemann overcame a three-stroke deficit with a final round 65 to win LIV’s liveliest, best-attended event. It’s all downhill from here, boys!
“Days like today makes me grow as a player,” said Niemann. “There is a lot I have to take from today and learn from it because today was a really good day. If I could have these Sundays more often, chasing leaders, it would be really good for my game.”
Abraham Ancer, who led most of the way, bogeyed three of his final five holes. Carlos Ortiz shared second with Ancer.
Both Niemann and Ancer are former Australian Open champions who relished the dry, Sandbelt-esque conditions and incredible crowd turnout. The win adds to Niemann’s PIF Saudi International victory last month.
In the team competition, Captain Sergio Garcia’s Freeballers took the title by six strokes over Lesion XIII. The lowly Majesticks, who have not made it to the LIV podium since the reign of King George VI, finished T5.
In other LIV news…
The Adelaide stop has been extended until 2031. What this means under a “reunified” is unclear since LIV and the PGA Tour have never had a united schedule.
LIV’s new CEO Scott O’Neil asserted during the broadcast, “You don’t have to look too far past our leaderboard to know that outside of the majors, if you want to see the best players in the world, there’s only one place to see it, and that’s at LIV.”
McIlroy’s Misinterpreted Remarks
Having been present at Torrey Pines for Rory McIlroy’s extensive remarks Wednesday, I was surprised to hear from several people who were bothered by his quotes (Phil Mickelson notwithstanding).
I suppose the remarks could be misconstrued without context or hearing his bordering-on-incredulous tone.
“We've all done better from all of this,” McIlroy said of the LIV-induced changes in golf. “Whether you stayed on the PGA Tour or you left, we have all benefited from this. I've been on the record saying this a lot, like we're playing for a $20 million prize fund this week. That would have never happened if LIV hadn't have come around.”
The comments were tinged with exhaustion and maybe a side order of some I-told-you-so. But he certainly was not declaring the last few years a great success for the game simply because golfers became wealthier. Nor was a suggestion that everyone “get over it” a form of pushback at the vast majority of fans bored by greed. McIlroy agrees.
“We all have to say OK, this is the starting point and we move forward,” he said. “We don't look behind us, we don't look to the past. Whatever's happened has happened and it's been unfortunate, but reunification, how we all come back together and move forward, that's the best thing for everyone. If people are butt hurt or have their feelings hurt because guys went or whatever, like who cares? Let's move forward together and let's just try to get this thing going again and do what's best for the game.”
Also of note: McIlroy made clear he’s not sure how what will be the outcome of a final remedy, but did suggest that the PGA Tour’s investors are in favor of a revised F1-style global model.