Farmers Insurance Open Picks and Plays
It's time for Torrey, as the PGA tour heads to San Diego
Scoring will be more difficult to come by this week after last week’s birdie fest. Held at the scenic Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, California, The Farmer Insurance Open has been the scene of many memorable golf tournaments. It’s known for breathtaking coastal views and a challenging 36 hole layout (The North and South Course). Torrey Pines South course will host three of the four rounds this week and is one of the longest setups on TOUR, measuring over 7,700 yards. Quite the contrast from what we witnessed at the Amex. The tournament is being held Wednesday through Saturday due to NFL games, so make sure to get your picks in early!
With this not being an elevated event, this tournament has seen better fields than what it will display in 2025. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Rory Mcilroy are some of the big names who will not be swinging the sticks this week. However, 11 of the top 30 in the OWGR will be. Hideki Matsuyama, Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala, Sungjae Im, and Keegan Bradley will represent the list of headliners in this week’s field.
Matthieu Pavon returns to defend his title after securing one of the most surprising wins on TOUR in his rookie season. With a final score of -13, the Frenchman won in just his third TOUR start last year.
SLEEPERS
Beau Hossler (+5500)
Coming off a 12th place finish at the Amex, Big Beau is hoping that his game travels to the coast. Torrey Pines has been a place that has been feast or famine for him. Two of the last four years he has a top 10, but sandwiched in between, is a pair of missed cuts.
Hossler, a California native will look to show off in front of his family and friends. His stats don’t jump off the page, but often times he is very streaky. When he is playing well, he tends to ride his hot play for an extended period of time. To me, this is a risk worth taking this week.
Doug Ghim (+6000)
Going back to last season, Doug Ghim has been playing some very sneaky good golf. He has made 11 of his last 12 cuts including 21st place finish last week at the Amex. A PGA Tour member since 2020, he currently has zero career wins, but is looking to change that this week.
The following stats are considered indicators of a strong performance coming. Driving Distance / SG: OTT
SG: APP
SG: Short Game / Scrambling Gained
Prox: 200+
Bogey Avoidance
Par 4: 450-500
Par 5: 550-600
SG: P (Poa)
Course & Comp Course History
There are only six guys who ranked above average in these categories and Ghim is one of them. Look for him to get off to a hot start, but can he hold up on the weekend when the pressure tightens, I guess we will find out.
Picks to Win
Jason Day (+2000)
For those of you not middle aged or older, Jason Day is known for more than just wearing Malbon. The guy has been world number 1, won a major at Whistling Straits, and is a stalwart of the International President’s Cup team. With back injuries keeping him from keeping his game at the top, he has slowly worked his way back to #33 in the OWGR. Once thought of a guy who would perhaps take the dough and head to LIV, he is one of the bigger faces currently on the PGA tour and his course history at Torrey Pines can’t be denied. He has an astounding seven top 10 finishes out of 15 appearances with two of them being wins. He is what the professional gamblers call, a horse for the course.
We also can’t deny what he was able to do last week in Palm Springs. Coming off a third place finish and feeling sexy as ever in his Malbon gear, a J-Day resurgence is on the horizon! Will you jump on it in time?
Keegan Bradley (+2200)
Sure there are better favorites out there such as Ludvig or Hidecki, but their price tags are hefty. Let’s not get it twisted, the 2025 Ryder Cup Captain can still golf his ball….. very well. With a strong finish to the 2024 season and momentum coming into the 2025, he’s out to prove that his playing days aren’t behind him.
He is currently ranked 13th in the world and has the mustache to prove it. An elite driver of the golf ball, he can take advantage of a long golf course such as Torrey Pines by putting his ball in play consistently. Since 2017, he has three top 5’s on this golf course so the history is there. One area that I worry about is his putting. He ranked 114th in strokes gained putting last year and this week’s surface is West Coast Poa, and it’s no joke. Greens unlike anything else they play, poa can throw some of the best of putters of their game which means, could it actually help the putters who aren’t as good? It’s something that I’m willing to roll the dice on. Putter in hand, stache clean and THICK…. is there anything better than a Saturday evening with Captain Keegan pacing down the 18th with a chance to win? Likely not
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