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 Though the most substantial changes to Torrey Pines came in 2001, when a redesign by Rees Jones added nearly 300 yards to the South Course, players and spectators will see subtle differences when they arrive and walk the course. "The city of San Diego has gone to great lengths to improve the course extensively in a lot of areas," said Tom Wilson, executive director of the Century Club, which organizes the tournament. "It installed concrete cart paths wall-to-wall in March and carts have not been allowed off, which means the golf course conditions are great." Other property improvements include a new parking lot, a new scoring staging area, and a fresh coat of paint on the clubhouse. The biggest difference spectators and players will see between now and June will be the width and speed of the fairways and the length of the rough. "The USGA likes to cut down the fairways and make them hard and fast, which we probably won't do for the Buick, and the USGA likes to grow the rough around the bunkers and greens a lot taller than we would," Wilson said. "And the greens will tend to be a little quicker." The Buick Invitational typically draws a strong field, but with the U.S. Open on the same course five months later, Wilson is anticipating one of the best fields ever. "Typically the marquee players don't commit until Christmas or the first of the year, but we're surely anticipating our three-time defending champion, Tiger Woods, will play, and also anticipate Phil [Mickelson] will be in the field, along with John Daly and some of the better foreign players, like Retief Goosen and Adam Scott, who would be here for the first time," he said. SG |
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