Jason Day: "Sometimes the PGA Tour sends me emails and I don't even read 'em..."

Jason Day admits he sometimes blanks emails sent to him by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan because he just wants to knuckle down and concentrate on his golf game rather than worry about the direction of the Tour. 

Day, 37, was pressed for comment by one reporter at Torrey Pines whether he considered PGA Tour events such as this week's Farmers Insurance Open are now seen as 'second type level' since they are not Signature Events with elevated prize purses.

This week's field has taken something of a dive in recent days with the likes of both World No.2 Xander Schauffele and World No.5 Collin Morikawa being forced to withdraw from the tournament. 

A number of other PGA Tour stars have decided to WD too. 

Although this week's event in San Diego is not a Signature Event on the PGA Tour schedule, players are still competing for a total prize purse of $9.3m. 

The champion of the 2025 Farmers Insurance Open earns a whopping $1.67m. 

Day considers the current situation is "unfortunate" for the PGA Tour in light of LIV Golf coming along and taking a number of the world's best players.

The Farmers Insurance Open was once seen as one of the most coveted events of the PGA Tour season.

It's also a tournament Tiger Woods has won a record seven times between 1999 and 2013. 

But it's fair to say this event, which was established in 1954, no longer has the lure it once did at famed Torrey Pines. 

One of the main reasons for that is the Farmers Insurance Open is not one of the PGA Tour's eight Signature Events of the season.

Signature Events are limited field tournaments laid out for the very best and most in-form PGA Tour professionals with increased prize purses of $20m where the winner takes home $4m, which is now the same as LIV Golf League events. 

Day considers the only way the PGA Tour was going to be able to get all of their best players under one roof more often than not was to shrink the schedule, and that is why the eight Signature Events with elevated prize purses came about.  

The former World No.1 and 2015 US PGA champion did confess though he likes to just keep his head down and not pay a great deal of attention to the latest goings-on at the PGA Tour. 

So much so Day even admitted to blanking a number of emails sent to him by the PGA Tour. 

Day told reporters at Torrey Pines:

"Well, there are two tours within a tour now if you could understand that. I think you have the top guys playing the Signature Events and you have the other side of it, too. 

"I think that just happened purely because of the way that when LIV came about, and it's unfortunate but that's what -- ultimately that's what we're dealing with now. I don't know if I speak for the Tour, you know, as well as some of the other guys because I sometimes -- sometimes the Tour sends me emails and I don't even read 'em. 

"I know there's guys out there that are a lot more qualified than me to answer for that reason. Yeah, it is tough. The two tours is difficult. I mean, ultimately I think at the end of the day you would probably, you know, if you wanted everyone to play in a tournament, you have to shrink the schedule down dramatically. 

"You can't have 40-plus events or I'm not sure where it is, it used to be 48 events on the schedule and you knew that it wasn't -- you weren't going to have the best players in the world. 

"The only way you're going to get the best players in the world is shrink the schedule down dramatically, and I think essentially that's kind of what they're doing now within the Tour is that you have the Signature Events and you have the major championships and then you have -- you throw in your Memorials, your Bay Hills, your Tiger events, all that stuff, those bigger events within that offer three-year exemptions instead of the typical two-year exemptions. 

"Then you might sprinkle in some golf tournaments that you actually like and play well in. Then the rest of the guys that are not quite in those Signature Events yet.

"So like I said before, I would love to give you the correct answer, but I just don't know where they're even taking it. I just typically just keep my head down, I keep my mouth shut and try and play good golf because I've got a hard enough time trying to keep the ball down the middle of the fairway down here."

When asked about this week's depleted star-quality field in light of two of the world's top five in Schauffele and Morikawa withdrawing on the eve of the tournament, Day admits it's "unfortunate" but that Torrey Pines is always a venue on his playing schedule. 

"It's always fun to come back to a place that I've been coming to since I was pretty much 16 years old," said Day, a two-time winner of the Farmers Insurance Open following wins in 2015 and 2018. 

"It's nice, it's a fun place to play. It is very difficult. Obviously U.S. Open style golf course on the South and then the course conditions are fantastic right now, so I'm looking forward to hopefully a successful week."

The 13-time PGA Tour winner added: "I'm very loyal to this area, I'm very loyal to this golf tournament. I love this area, I love the people here. I also love the golf tournament and I love the golf course. 

"It's something that has been -- I've had a lot of good memories here so that's why I'm very loyal to this place. 

"I don't want it to get to a point where we've just kind of forgotten about it because to me personally, I think of like the wins that Tiger won, like even myself and what that felt like. I remember, you know, when I won the playoff against J.B. Holmes on the 16th hole and we were driving back and there were just lines of people down 18 like yelling out, and I feel like the crowds have gotten a little bit less since then."

Farmers Insurance have confirmed they will not be renewing their title sponsorship of this event in 2026. 

GolfMagic Editor Andy Roberts strongly fancies Day to capture a third Farmers Insurance Open at pre-tournament odds of 28/1.

Day also enters one of his favourite events of the PGA Tour season after an impressive T3 at The American Express last week. 

Check out the rest of Andy's betting tips for the Farmers Insurance Open.

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