This week’s Farmers Insurance Open is rewarding school spirit during the third round of the tournament on Saturday, January 28. For the second year, all fans and TOUR players are encouraged to wear their own university colors in support of Farmers “University of Farmers” advertising campaign.

For “extra credit” Farmers will award $30,000 total to the college golf programs of the three players posting the best third-round 18-hole scores. The player with the low third-round score will receive $15,000 for his alma mater’s golf team, second will receive $10,000 and third will receive $5,000. Farmers Insurance Open defending champion Bubba Watson is a University of Georgia graduate, one of nine former Bulldogs with PGA TOUR cards in 2012.

J.B. Holmes, who underwent brain surgery last Sept. 1 and pictured Justin Rose, whose wife Kate gave birth to daughter Charlotte on Jan. 1, are scheduled to make their 2012 PGA TOUR debuts at the Farmers Insurance Open. Others making their first starts include Ernie Els, Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan and Geoff Ogilvy.

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An amateur has made the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open four of the last five years: Jamie Lovemark (2007 and 2008), Gregor Main (2009) and Anthony Paolucci (2011). Jay Hwang a golfer at UCLA is the only amateur in the 2012 field.

Twelve of Phil Mickelson’s 39 career PGA TOUR victories have come in the state of California, including three victories at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Last year, lefthanders Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson finished 1-2 at Farmers Insurance Open. Prior to that, the last time two left-handed players finished 1-2 at a PGA TOUR event was the 2005 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where Mickelson won by four shots over Mike Weir.

Last year, Jhonattan Vegas and Phil Mickelson were the first two players since 2001 to record all four rounds in the 60s at the Farmers Insurance Open. Dating to 1997 (14 tournaments), only six other players have performed the feat, with two coming in 1999 (Billy Ray Brown and Bill Glasson) and four in 2001 (Frank Lickliter II, Mike Weir, Jay Don Blake and Shigeki Maruyama).

The Farmers Insurance Open has not produced a first-time TOUR winner since Jay Don Blake in 1991.

Humana Challenge winner Mark Wilson, who led the FedExCup standings for a TOUR-best 12 weeks in 2011, sits No. 2 in the current FedExCup standings with 553 points, 230 points behind Johnson Wagner (783 points).

Going back to the start of the 2011 season, Wisconsin natives Mark Wilson and Steve Stricker have the most wins on the PGA TOUR – three.

One week after winning the Sony Open in Hawaii, Johnson Wagner continued his stellar play at the Humana Challenge, finishing T2. Wagner now has three top 10s in three starts in 2012. Entering this year, Johnson had seven top-10 finishes (two wins) in 139 professional starts.

Source: PGA Tour Media Release, powered by the Golfblogger Network