Column: Farmers Open fixture: San Diego Police officer Ganley bounces from flowers to fugitives to fairways

The snapshots range from facing down a 2x4-wielding man in Pacific Beach, rubbing elbows with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones and providing security for Tiger Woods when he drilled a knee-buckling, playoff-forcing putt during his stirring win in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Before Debbie Ganley joined the San Diego Police Department, the Long Island native worked as a florist who brightened the homes of director Steven Spielberg, actor Chevy Chase and the former CEO of Warner Brothers in the ritzy enclave known as The Hamptons.

Nothing, though, prepared her for unexpected moments quite like a domestic disturbance call.

“The suspect’s weapon was a frozen fish,” said Ganley, laughing. “It’s like, ‘OK, how do you impound a fish?’ ”

That unique mix of commitment to the job and magnetic personality has made Ganley, the officer in charge at the Famers Insurance Open, a player favorite and the inaugural winner of the event’s Hometown Hero Award.

The person who has guarded and guided Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, John Daly and so many more since 2002 has grown into more of a fixture than most who swing clubs each year at Torrey Pines.

How does a florist end up with a badge and gun on the other side of the country? Start with her parents, both horticulturists, who operated a garden center. Her father also served as a volunteer fireman in East Hampton, N.Y. The worlds blurred, as she grew to admire finely manicured golf surfaces as much as the intoxicating camaraderie of a firehouse.

When Ganley moved to San Diego, she was lured partly because of fascination with the surf-and-party lifestyle portrayed in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and partly by a smooth-talking Navy man stationed at Miramar. As roots took hold, she learned Torrey Pines was hiring a golf starter. She had been wowed by Long Island’s Shinnecock Hills, ranked as the best U.S. Open track in history by Golfweek in 2018.

The Southern California gem hugging the Pacific Ocean coastline stole her breath, though. Still does.

“I fell in love with this place,” said Ganley, 57.

Along the way, a friend who worked in the police department arranged a ride-along. One thing led to another and, in 1998, she entered the police academy.

Ganley shifted to the department’s Special Events Unit and a rare road presented itself. After providing security for a Rolling Stones concert at the Sports Arena, fans long gone and the house lights up, grizzled guitarist Richards sauntered out and parked near Ganley and an EMS worker.

“Keith comes out and he’s watching the roadies,” she said. “He’s like, ‘I love watching the roadies. They’re the coolest.’ When they were playing, Sheryl Crow opened for them. So I’m standing stage-right and she’s standing right next to me. I’m like, Mick Jagger is right in front of me and Sheryl Crow is right next to me.

“I’m a huge Stones fan, so I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ ”

Memories at Torrey Pines, though, linger most. She was there for seven of Tiger’s eight wins. She was there in 2004, when Daly picked up the last of his five PGA Tour victories. She was there in 2016, when wicked winds uprooted trees and forced a fan-less final round as Brandt Snedeker lifted the trophy in surreal silence.

When Armen Keteyian co-authored the book “Tiger Woods,” he interviewed Ganley because of her many interactions with the star. She talks about the parents of player Pat Perez on a first-name basis, with a warmth reserved for family.

A smile rushed across Ganley’s face as she drifted back to 2008, when a Golf Digest essay contest tied to the U.S. Open selected a random player to play with NFL quarterback Tony Romo, entertainer Justin Timberlake and TV host Matt Lauer.

“The USGA said to me, only people with passes are allowed inside the ropes,” said Ganley, who will retire from the department in September. “I’m looking at passes, ‘You need to be outside the ropes,’ ‘You need to be outside the ropes,’ ‘You need to be outside the ropes.’ I wasn’t looking at faces.

“I looked up at one point and I was kicking out (Hall of Famer and Masters winner) Freddy Couples. I’m like, ‘I’m sorry, Freddy.’ He laughs and I said, ‘You can stay.’ The rest of the round, he kept asking, ‘Am I OK?’ He is one of the nicest people ever.”

San Diego police officer Debbie Ganley, the officer in charge at the Farmers Insurance Open since 2002, was given the tournament’s inaugural Hometown Hero Award.

(Bryce Miller/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Farmers organizers awarded Ganley with one of the traditional surfboards reserved for tournament winners. The florist found plenty of fast times in San Diego, after all.

Jeff Spicoli would be proud.