Farmers Insurance Invitational's APGA Tour event big hit at Torrey Pines

Patrick Newcomb’s only experience playing Torrey Pines South was in a video game, but he shook off two late bogeys and got up and down from a greenside bunker on 18 to make birdie and win the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational by one over Tim O’Neal.

O’Neal had a chance to force extra holes but pulled his birdie try from the same line that Will Zalatoris knew all too well from the PGA TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open the day before.

“It’s good for the guys to … see TOUR conditions and kind of see what it’s all about,” said O’Neal, who also was playing Torrey Pines South, the fourth hardest course on TOUR, for the first time. “Good or bad, where you need to get. For a lot of guys, you know, playing a course like this, you see how you stack up and things you have to work on to get better.”

Playing PGA TOUR tracks has been a growing trend on the APGA Tour, which visits several venues on the TPC network of courses. It’s part of the PGA TOUR’s commitment to support the APGA Tour, and part of the TOUR’s pledge of $100 million over 10 years toward diversity and inclusion efforts at every level of the game, both competitively and industry wide.

This was the third Farmers Insurance Invitational, but the $100,000 purse and $30,000 first place check were the biggest sums in the history of the Advocates Tour. Meanwhile, the live broadcast on Golf Channel marked the first-ever televised APGA tournament.

Newcomb, 31, flew to San Diego after finishing T40 at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Bahamas Great Abaco Classic.

Typical of the APGA Tour, a sense of camaraderie prevailed. Ryan Alford, who was high school teammates with TOUR winner Sam Burns and got a sponsor exemption into the Farmers Insurance Open but missed the cut, made a quick change of plans and caddied on the weekend for friend Marcus Byrd, who was in contention until making double bogey at the par-3 16th hole.

Kevin Hall, who survived childhood meningitis but lost his hearing, had only an outside chance but hit his third in the water and bogeyed the 18th hole. Still, that didn’t dim his infectious smile upon shaking the hands of his playing partners, which spoke volumes about not just Hall but also the APGA, Farmers, and the collective goodwill that permeated the event.

“This weekend has been amazing,” Hall said. “None of this would be possible without Farmers Insurance. All the hard work the APGA has done, very special weekend. Playing the North, beautiful golf course. Then you come to the South, completely different: narrow fairways, the rough was up, the greens I think were faster. Tough test of golf.”

O’Neal, 49 and on the cusp of PGA TOUR Champions eligibility, won the John Shippen to get into the PGA TOUR’s Rocket Mortgage Classic last July, and has competed at all levels of the game. He has more than 150 career starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, so when he started with three straight bogeys Sunday, he didn’t panic and gradually got back in contention.

Newcomb had a two-stroke lead with four holes remaining but bogeyed 15 and 16 while O’Neal held steady with pars. Suddenly the two were tied at even par with two holes remaining.

O’Neal missed a birdie putt on 17, and it came down to the par-5 18th, as it so often does on TOUR. Newcomb lost his tee shot right but made the gutsy decision to go for the green in two, which called for him to skirt the trees with his second. He did, and his ball cleared the water hazard and hopped in the sand left of the green. He splashed out and made the putt that would hold up when O’Neal missed.

At first, Newcomb came to the APGA because he didn’t have anywhere to play during the COVID break. He also found himself low on funds, like others chasing the dream. He joined pros like O’Neal and Willie Mack III, whom he knew from grinding on the mini-tours for years, and found himself embraced amongst the brotherhood of those who simply won’t stop believing.

“They've been great, open arms,” Newcomb said. “… I mean, the competition’s good, you've got to shoot good scores out here. I played really, really well on the North course yesterday and I thought I was going to have a bigger lead than that and I didn’t. The guys can play.”