Golf-PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines gains title sponsor

2010-01-18

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SAN DIEGO, Jan 18 (Reuters) - A title sponsor has been found for the San Diego Open just 10 days before the tournament gets underway with the opening round at Torrey Pines, the PGA Tour said on Monday.

The Farmers Insurance Group, a management and holding company, has agreed to back next week’s event and has an option to extend its sponsorship beyond 2010.

The San Diego tournament, known as the Buick Invitational since 1992, had been without a title sponsor since August last year when the troubled Detroit automaker announced it was pulling out because of the economic downturn.

“We couldn’t be more pleased that Farmers Insurance has stepped forward to sponsor the tournament,” PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement.

The Jan. 28-31 event is the fourth on the 2010 PGA Tour but will be the first to be broadcast on national network television. Offering an overall purse of $5.3 million, it traditionally attracts a strong field.

American world number two Phil Mickelson, a three-times champion at Torrey Pines who lives close to the course, will launch his 2010 campaign there.

Top-ranked Tiger Woods is a six-times winner of the event but is unlikely to make his traditional first appearance of the season there as he is taking an indefinite break from the game.

Woods, who has given no timetable for his likely return to competition, has been in hiding since admitting last month he had cheated on his wife.