SAN DIEGO — Light fog rolled off Torrey Pines State Beach on Wednesday morning, but it was too lazy to climb the bluffs where golfers were teeing off in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Temecula's Scott Passafume was stationed along the ropeline at the South Course's No. 1 tee box as the first few groups got going.
"I'm a big Rickie Fowler fan, so I wanted to watch him tee off," said Passafume, who stuck around for two additional groups afterwards so he could see the power group that included Jon Rahm, Tony Finau and Justin Thomas.
Once they were off, so was Passafume, a 77-year-old who makes camp well south of the first tee.
"You have to get here early," Passafume said. "With me now with my metal hips (after two hip replacements), you have to know the course.
"So I go to the 10th green on the South Course with my chair. From there, I can watch the green there, I can watch the tee and green at 11, I can watch the approach on 13, and I can watch them tee off on 14."
It's the Torrey equivalent of being at the Four Corners.
"I learned about that spot when I was a marshal back in 2008 for the U.S. Open," Passafume said. "I'm probably not the only one who knows the 10th green is the perfect spot to go."
Passafume tucked his binoculars under one arm and was folding up his chair to head south when a reporter began pestering him with questions.
Like an explanation for the Dodgers cap paired with a Padres jersey?
"I've been a Dodger fan since 1954 and a Padres fan since 1969," said Passafume, 77, who grew up in El Cajon. "So the Dodgers will still take priority. They'll always take priority.
"The best thing that can happen to me is when the Dodgers finish in first and the Padres finish in second so that they both go to the playoffs. Then I'm a happy camper."
There was some smoke coming out of his campsite when the Padres eliminated the Dodgers from the playoffs last year.
"The Dodgers disappointed me," Passafume said. "They didn't choke, but their hitters didn't perform the way they should have. The Padres got good at the right moment."
Passafume graduated from El Cajon Valley High School and earned a business degree from San Diego State during the Don Coryell era. He spent his career working for K-Mart.
"I was a K-Mart manager when we thought Walmart was just this little outfit," he said. "We'd go to meetings (in the early 1970s), someone would mention Walmart and the execs would say, 'You don't have to worry about them. They're just in Arkansas.'
"That turned a little."
Passafume was introduced to golf as a 7-year-old by his father, who was an avid golfer.
"He had eight hole-in-ones," Passafume said. "He probably played three or four times a week, but still. We played this course a lot."
Passafume's game remains a work in progress.
"My friend and I are both 77," he said. "We've been played golf for 70 years, and we still hit terrible shots."
Shooting in the mid-80s is a great round for Passafume, so he is getting closer and closer to being able to shoot his age.
"For my 80th birthday, my bucket list item is to come play Torrey South again," he said. "Of course, it will cost me a fortune. If I tell enough people, maybe they'll pay for it."
Perhaps he can get a sponsors exemption for the 2026 pro-am.
Blew out a flip-flop?
Who knew you could attend a golf tournament and end up shopping for shoes?
OluKai is new this year to the Servpro Fan Village, located behind the 15th. There, the footwear company sells its new golf shoes.
The Irvine-based business has been around two decades, expanding from its Hawaiian-inspired flip-flops and casual shoes.
"We have people come up with broken flip-flops or uncomfortable shoes in general," OluKai brand ambassador Kayla Millsap said. "And we noticed a lot of people that come to these events who are wearing heels will stop by the booth and grab a comfortable pair of shoes."
Customers who buy OluKais at Torrey Pines this week have the option of putting shoes on right then and there or having them shipped home.
Have a seat
For those who need to find a seat even if they're wearing suitable shoes, Bora is renting chairs for the second straight year.
The local startup company, which is working with Mastercard and the PGA Tour, is located on the 18th fairway by the east exit.
Chairs cost $10 a day during the first two rounds and $15 a day the last two rounds.
The service proved so popular last year that the company doubled its inventory to 200 chairs.
More information on Bora, which also supplies beach chairs at other local venues, is available at mybora.co.
Eavesdropping
Marshals must adjust the ropes from time to time so golfers can get from the previous green to the following tee.
When the rope went up to let golfers Nick Hardy, Dean Burmeister and Sam Stevens get to the No. 9 tee box, it stopped traffic — but not conversation.
One guy was overheard telling another: "I told you, Mike, I don't have authority to fire Bobby."
Then the ropeline went down, the crowd surged forward and Bobby's fate remained a mystery.
