The 2025 Farmers Insurance Open is officially underway and golf fans of all kinds made their way to Torrey Pines Golf Course. It's a week many here in San Diego circle on their calendar. Whether it's their first or tenth time attending the annual PGA TOUR tournament, they say it's much more than a tournament.
“It's my second time in a row,” Linda, a north county resident tells me.
But it's her close friend Heather, who came up with the idea.
“I made her come because I've been coming probably about 18 times,” Heather explains. "I love to follow golfers and get up and close and say hi to them."
For some it's to watch some of the world's best golfers tee it up on an iconic golf course. But for others like Curtis Burkhead, it's more of a tradition by now.
"I’ve been here numerous times — I’ve come here as a kid. Id spend a lot of time here at Torrey Pines,” Burkhead says, with his toddler in his arms. “It's very special place to me, it's something I got into early as a kid and got into the game. Now I'm lucky enough to come out here and spend some time with my two-year-old.
From the fans to the volunteers, the excitement is clear. Al Potter tells ABC 10News, he's attended the tournament several years but this year is his second time volunteering instead. But the reason he keeps coming back isn't just for the beautiful scenery and great golf being played in town.
"Well you know helping the Century club, they donate to a lot of charities and I feel as a volunteer I'm really helping out the charities by doing that."
One of those local charities is Promises2Kids.On Wednesday, the Century Club hosted a Career Tour as part of the tournament. The event brought together 30 youth from three partner charities (Promises 2 Kids, Barrio Logan College Institute and Reality Changers) to learn about job opportunities in the San Diego region. One of the 30 who attended was Aliyah Banks, a student at San Diego State who is part of that Promises2Kids.
"This opportunity is honestly amazing. I'm a Sports Marketing Intern at SDSU as of right now and this is just helping me broaden my horizons and get more exposure to the opportunities and type of career fields actually in the sports realm," Aliyah says.
