The PGA Tour is left fragile with three days left before the Farmers Insurance Open. Players have dropped out one after another, and now add another name to the list.

The PGA Tour Communications team shared that Nico Echavarria has withdrawn from the competition, giving his spot to Taylor Moore. also, Marcus Byrd took the last Unrestricted sponsor exemption.

Echavarria recently failed to make the 11-under-par deadline at the American Express 2026 after a disastrous 9-over-par third round. The Colombian made a sextuple bogey at the No.17 to fall outside the cutline in La Quinta and also failed to make the third round of the season starter at the Sony Open, with a +7 total. On the other hand, Taylor Moore, who ended 174 in the OWGR ranking and finished tied 57th at the American Express.

Echavarria’s withdrawal arrived without public medical details, so the Tour labeled it undisclosed.

Earlier that day, the Tour shared that Jimmy Stanger had to say goodbye to the tournament, and Justin Lower was taking his spot.

Stanger participated in the Bahamas Golf Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour to start the season, but failed to make the cut. Later, the 30-year-old was humbled during the first round at the American Express after hitting three consecutive shots into the water hazards. Though he did not say exactly why he had to quit, for now, he needs some rest to get his mind and body back in shape. 

Brian Campbell was the first one to leave the field this past Saturday morning. The 31-year-old entered the 2026 season on a career-defining trajectory, having recently won the 2025 Mexico Open and John Deere Classic titles. Those victories secured his full PGA Tour status. However, Campbell’s 2026 campaign has been marred by struggles so far after two consecutive early exits at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the AmEx.

The 47-year-old Matt Kuchar, who last won on the Tour in the Mayakoba Golf Classic 2018 has taken Campbell’s place in the field.

No one knows for sure what is causing all these sudden exits lately, but the wave of exits is just repeating the same pattern that happened last season. Players like Nicolai Hojgaard, Collin Morikawa, Tyler McCumber, Mackenzie Hughes, and Akshay Bhatia withdrew from the event at the last moment in 2025.

And this season, this string of short-notice exits comes straight after a messy American Express week.

At La Quinta, Nick Dunlap, Luke Clanton, and Rico Hoey all left early for health reasons. Dunlap, the defending AmEx champion from 2024, withdrew with an injury after two rounds. Clanton and Hoey both stopped because of illness, and their sudden absences worried players and staff alike. Dunlap is not in the field for the upcoming game this week, but Luke Clanton and Rico Hoey both hope to feel much better before they play at Torrey Pines.

Despite all these missing faces from FIO, the field still offers a strong core. The defending champion, Harris English is returning. English enters the tournament after a strong 17 under par finish at the American Express, and an T8 finish at the Hero World Challenge last December.

The hometown major hero and the current world no. 4, Xander Schauffele, is also ready to start his season at the familiar course. Schauffele missed the 2025 edition due to injury, making his 2026 return highly anticipated.  Despite his global success, he has never won his hometown event. So the pressure is immense.

And Marcus Byrd takes the last unrestricted sponsor exemption. Byrd is a standout on the APGA Tour (Advocates Professional Golf Association) who was named the 2023 APGA Tour Player of the Year, and previously received a sponsor exemption to play in the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open.

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Despite the shakeups, this isn’t even the biggest storyline of the upcoming Farmers Insurance Open.

The biggest story of the week is the return of Brooks Koepka

The central gravity of the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open is undoubtedly the return of Brooks Koepka.  Koepka ends a long absence and will return to the PGA Tour at Torrey Pines. He last played a regular PGA Tour event in March 2022 before joining LIV Golf.

Brooks Koepka has been away for over three and a half years from the PGA Tour and was officially asked to come back just a few days ago in January.  The PGA Tour made a special ‘Returning Member Program’ to let him return to the Tour. This new program states that the Tour approved his return only after setting strict terms and big penalties worth $85 million.

Brooks Koepka has a challenging history at the Farmers Insurance Open, having made the cut only once in his four previous appearances at Torrey Pines. His best finish at the event was a tie for 41st place in his debut appearance in 2015. And he has struggled to find his rhythm in the last few seasons since his last major win at the 2023 PGA Championship.

So, no one knows if the five-time major winner will find his old magic. You can watch all the action on the Golf Channel and CBS. The game starts on Thursday and will be full of exciting shots.