Bryce Miller: Farmers winner Harris English has shot at history during Genesis Invitational
Published in Golf
SAN DIEGO — Nineteen days.
That’s the thimbleful of time between Harris English winning the Farmers Insurance Open and his return to Torrey Pines Golf Course for this week’s loaded Genesis Invitational.
In the window it takes for a far-flung vacation, the 35-year-old from Georgia will chase almost incalculable PGA Tour history.
Only Tiger Woods — the Genesis tournament host — has won twice on the same course in one calendar year on Tour. That site also was Torrey, in 2008, when he captured the Buick Invitational before a stirring win at the U.S. Open.
“That would be unbelievable to join that company,” English said.
The odds of rewriting things become exponentially more dizzying when you consider that the Genesis will feature 46 of the top 50 players in the world, dwarfing the field at the Farmers.
On the line then: $9.3 million.
On the line now: $20 million.
“Normally you have a year to wait until you defend (at a golf course),” English said. “It semi-feels like I’m defending right now. It’s obviously one of the best fields in golf, an elevated event. It’s going to be a tall task, but I can lean on some good memories, some recent memories.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
You understand the appeal of Torrey Pines to English, who finished third at the U.S. Open there in 2021, three strokes behind winner Jon Rahm.
Torrey Pines South, one of the toughest tracks on Tour, represents a bed of nails to many. It’s seemingly a night at the Four Seasons for English, who handles the things that drive golfers batty with relative ease.
“I’ve got some good mojo here,” he said.
Saying that English’s climb will be steep is a bit like saying Dubai’s Burj Khalifa seems tall. It’s in-the-clouds stuff that makes a fascinating what-if, as statistically out of the realm as it might be.
But here he sits.
English is a five-time Tour winner with that status just weeks old. A few more wins or a major and he will transform from a respected winner to a household name.
The wet Torrey Pines grass could be shifting under his spikes.
“I’ve got to use that (experience) to my advantage,” English said. “I know how to play this golf course. I know where to leave it. That’s the easy part. You’ve got to hit the shots. You’ve got to hit the putts. You’ve got to hit chips close.
“It tests every aspect of your game, mentally and physically out here. So I’m going to get rested up and ready for battle.”
English sits at a potential fork in the golfing road. He ended 2024 ranked No. 73 in the world. He stands at No. 35 now.
Stir in the fact that Harris has excelled at U.S. Open-styled courses and the unthinkable suddenly feels less so. He has finished in the top eight at three U.S. Opens.
The next highest finish in a major was a tie for 19th at the 2020 PGA Championship.
The tougher the footing, the sharper the game.
“It’s a course and a setup like the U.S. Open, where it’s going to be tough,” English said. “You’ve got to play chess out here. You’re not going to hit every shot perfectly. You’re going to hit it in the rough. You’re going to miss greens. You’ve just got to grind it out.
“I’m looking at it as a positive. It’s awesome coming back here so quickly.”
Many golfers would like to see unrelenting Torrey Pines again sometime between decades and never.
It’s a great walk with the picturesque oceanside vistas, one of the most scenic in golf. It’s also a migraine in waiting, where the smallest mistakes can steamroll.
Splash in some rain, as is predicted in the coming days, and one of the toughest assignments on Tour becomes a Mensa test while nursing a hangover.
“Any kind of rain out here, that rough gets thicker and thicker,” English said. “It’s just a brute. I drew some good lies a couple weeks ago, but those might be fewer and farther between this week.
“Sometimes it’s a lot of gouge-it-out short of the green and try to get up and down. You’ve got to be ready for anything.”
English seems as ready as anyone. He has the Farmers Insurance Open surfboard, annually awarded to the tournament’s winner.
“I’ve only been surfing one time,” he said. "I played the U.S. Junior at Rancho Santa Fe when I was 15 or 16. I came out with my buddies and we did a surfing lesson. I was terrible.
“That might be a wall piece. I don’t know that I can put that in play on the water.”
The next four days will decide if it’s part of bigger history, wet or not.
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