Beau Hossler was intrigued. Dylan Fritelli shrugged.

On Monday, in practice rounds for the Farmers Insurance Open that begins on Thursday, the two former winners of the Junior World Championships on the Torrey Pines South Course navigated the layout for the first time since a $14 million renovation by the city of San Diego was completed over the past year.

In an effort to strengthen the course for the 2021 U.S. Open while installing a new irrigation system, every tee, bunker and surrounding area at all 18 greens were replaced, while the putting surfaces remained intact.

Potentially, of greatest concern for the pros was the addition of some length, the shifting of a few fairways, and the placement of bunkers more in the hitting zone of the modern player.


Yet while the 24-year-old Hossler, a Southern Californian in his fourth year on tour, could analyze with precision a number of the changes, Fritelli, a 29-year-old South African who is entered in only his second Farmers, said he saw few alterations that made a big difference to him.

“It’s still an impressive golf course, but I didn’t notice much,” said Fritelli, who didn’t complete a full tour of the South, playing holes 1 through 8 and then skipping over to 18.

Hossler, who finished his practice round on 18 in near-darkness, also didn’t get in all of the holes, skipping the middle of the back nine on the farthest reach of the course. But he did see enough to surmise that long, accurate driving will be even more at a premium.

“I didn’t really know they were going to do the changes to the course, and I’m usually a little skeptical of changes,” Hossler said. “But I think they did a nice job. It’s definitely harder.”


Architect Rees Jones, who oversaw the South Course’s complete redesign in 2001 that led to Torrey Pines hosting the 2008 U.S. Open, studied his own notes and the PGA Tour’s ShotLink statistics to choose where to make alternations.

Among the biggest changes:

Numerous fairway bunkers were placed at about 300 yards from the tee — a typical landing distance for many tour players.

Fairways at holes such as the par-4 10th and 17th were pinched to intimidate bombers and further penalize stray tee shots.


Some holes were dramatically lengthened to reach a total of 7,765 yards, including the 10th, which was stretched from 415 yards to 454.

On holes such as the par-4 seventh, par-5 ninth and par-4 15th, tightly mowed collection areas near the greens were added or expanded.

And for some holes, almost nothing had to be changed because they were already brutal. The par-4 12th measures 505 yards, nearly always plays into the wind, and last season ranked as the second-hardest hole on tour.

“They’re kind of seemingly taking away the easy holes and turning them into moderate holes,” said Hossler, who won the 2011 Junior World. “So, basically, there are no easy holes out here when you play it all the way back.”


Hossler, who dubbed the 10th and 17th holes as “significantly harder,” had praise for some of the bunker work. He noted that while sand is more in the driving zone — “You’re flying into the bunker on every hole at 290” — the faces of some bunkers have been lowered to allow players to better go for the green.

The ninth and 10th holes are already the subject of some debate.

At 615 yards from the elevated back tee, the ninth is considered a three-shot par 5 for most players. Jones sought to further challenge the golfers by adding a cross bunker at about 50 yards out from the green and a steeply sloped collection area behind it.

On Monday, neither did much to intimidate world No. 2 Rory McIlroy. The Irishman bombed a drive and hit his second shot past the cross bunker. From there, he hit a beautiful pitch to 2 feet for a tap-in birdie.


While practicing from the collection area, McIlroy holed out a pitch. Easy as that.

Thie collection area is meant to be a menace to players overcooking a shot to a back pin, but a couple of golfers noted on Monday that in softer conditions a too-long shot from 80 yards was unlikely. That may be more of a problem in the firm summer conditions of the U.S. Open.

“I don’t know that it will affect much, to be honest,” Hossler said. “You were already dead if you hit it over the green there. It’s just a different kind of dead now.”

Arriving at the 10th in his practice round, Peter Uhlein did a double take at his yardage book. The 30-year-old former star at Oklahoma State remembered the 10th as a longish hole, until he realized it was lengthened by more than 40 yards.


He and his caddie recalled hitting 3-wood off the tee most of the time there, leaving a 9-iron into the green. Now, the tee shot will have to be driver. That brings a newly moved left bunker into play, but Uhlein didn’t understand the placement of the right bunker that was more than 320 yards from the tee, on a hole that tilts severely from left to right.

“If the ball keeps running, it’s going to end up to the right of that bunker, based on the slope,” Uhlein said. “It’s a strange place to put a bunker, in my opinion.”

Hossler said the 10th had the potential to be the most challenging drive on the course because of the fairway slope.

Some pros on Monday didn’t have any points of reference for comparison because they were playing the South Course for the first time. They included Collin Morikawa, a former Cal star who won the Barracuda Championship last July in only his sixth career start.


Morikawa, 22, soaked up the experience of hitting balls on the course he’d watched on TV as a kid.

“The history here is awesome,” Morikawa said. “Seeing so much that’s happened here, it’s really cool to play the course.

“I love the course. It fits my eye pretty well. It’s got narrow fairways and the rough is up, but not too bad. The No. 1 goal is to keep in the fairway and work from there.”



Notable

Tiger Woods will make his 2020 debut by playing the first two rounds with former Farmers champ Jon Rahm and Morikawa. Other marquee groups: Phil Mickelson, Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler; McIlroy, Cameron Smith, Brandt Snedeker; defending champion Justin Rose, Jason Day, Jordan Speith.


Tee times and course assignments will be announced today.

