The PGA Tour remains in California for another week as the 52nd edition of the Farmers Insurance Open tees off from Torrey Pines on Friday.
Five of the worlds Top 10 golfers will be in attendance as Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose all look to tackle the famous coastal course. Jason Day became the first Australian to win this event back in 2018, while fellow countrymen and Sony Open winner Cameron Smith also looks a serious chance.
The New Year has provided plenty of upsets so far, making this week’s field tough to pick. With plenty of value on offer though, we’re confident we’ve some winners in our 2020 Farmers Insurance Open Preview below.
2020 FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN BEST BET
Gary Woodland – $23.00
Woodland flies under the radar at these kinds of events. Last year’s US Open winner has finished Top 10 in each of his last four starts, including an impressive T7 at the Tournament of Champions to open the New Year. He also loves Torrey Pines, finishing Top 20 in each of his last four appearances. Throw in the fact Woodland has never missed the cut in 10 starts on this course, and it becomes painfully clear that the current price is well over the odds.
2020 FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN TOP 5 FINISH
Jon Rahm – $2.88
Rahm picked up where he left off last year by finishing outright 10th at the Tournament of Champions. The Spaniard has now finished Top 10 in four of his last five events, although you do need to rewind back to April to find his last win on Tour. The good news is the 25-year-old is the king of consistency as he enters his prime. After winning this event back in 2017, Rahm finished T5 last year and looks an absolute certainty to finish somewhere towards the top.
2020 FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN TOP 10 FINISH
Tony Finau – 4.00
Finau looked a real chance last week at PGA West before a third-round 71 cost him a chance at the leaders. He returns to Torrey Pines for the fifth consecutive year hoping to improve on last year’s T13, with his best result coming a year earlier (T6).
2020 FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN TOP 20 FINISH
Cameron Smith – $2.50
Smith chose to skip last week’s American Express after winning the Sony Open in Hawaii. His game continues to grow in leaps and bounds, and he certainly has plenty of form around Torrey Pines. The Aussie finished T9 last year and T20 the year before, while Smith’s putting at Waialae two weeks ago suggests he could be in for another big weekend.
2020 FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN TOP ASIAN PLAYER
Sungjae Im – $3.50
Im finished T52 at this event last year, but don’t let that distract you from how good the Korean has been from last August onwards. The 21-year-old finished T10 at PGA West last week – his fourth consecutive finish inside the Top 25. I’ll continue to tip the youngster until proven otherwise, making him great value in the Top Asian Player market.
2020 FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN BEST ROUGHIE
Byeong Hun An – $61.00
Failed to fire at The American Express last week missing the cut, but it’s worth noting the Korean ranks third on Tour in Top 10 finishes. Hun An returns to this event for the first time since 2017, so he doesn’t have a lot of familiarity with the course. He does, however, rank 10th in driving distance this year and 32nd in birdie average, numbers that could spell a big weekend ahead.
2020 FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN FIELD
Rory McIlroy – $7.00
A well-deserved two-month rest should have done Rory some good as he returns for his 13th season on Tour. The last time we saw the Irishman he finished fourth at the DP World Tour Championship, capping off a run that saw him finish top five in his previous four events. McIlroy will hold particularly fond memories of this event after finishing T5 on debut last year following a disastrous opening round 71. He should be fresh and ready to fire.
Tiger Woods – $11.00
Is this the weekend Tiger claims the record? With his win at the ZOZO Championship back in October, Woods tied Sam Snead for the most PGA Tour victories on 82. He, like so many others, will hold fond memories of Torrey Pines after winning the 2008 US Open on this course, followed by a win at the Farmers Insurance Open in 2013. Tiger’s conditioning is still a question mark, but he does come into this event well-rested after leading Team USA to victory in the Presidents Cup.
Xander Schauffele – $17.00
San Diego’s finest has largely been a disappointment in front of his hometown crowd. Schauffele finally made the cut last year for the first time in four tries, making him a difficult player to scout ahead of this year’s tournament. That said, Schauffele has finished Top 10 in his last five Tour events and should play with a chip on his shoulder after losing a playoff at Kapalua three weeks ago.
Justin Rose – $19.00
Unlike so many others, the defending champ heads to Torrey Pines on very short rest after finishing runner-up at the Singapore Open on Monday. Rose missed time last year due to injury, so his performance in Singapore is encouraging as he looks to finish Top 10 at this event for the fourth year in a row.
Hideki Matsuyama – $21.00
Matsuyama again looks a little undervalued in the market on the heels of a T12 at the Sony Open. The Japanese sensation finished T3 at last year’s Farmer Insurance after shooting 66 in the opening two rounds before a disappointing third round 73 saw him undone. The good news is Matsuyama is making his seventh consecutive appearance at this event, meaning he’s got more than his fair share of experience with Torrey Pines. Putting has let the 27-year-old down recently, but what he’s lacked on the greens he’s more than made up for with the irons.
Rickie Fowler – $26.00
Fowler looked well on his way to a win at The American Express last week before fading down the stretch with back-to-back ’70s. This time last year the American failed to finish inside the Top 50 at Torrey Pines before going on to win the Phoenix Open a week later. Fowler’s T5 at the Tournament of Champions and T10 last week make him a chance, but back-to-back cuts at this event in 2017 and 2018 make him hard to trust.
Patrick Reed – $29.00
Missing the cut at the Sony Open two weeks ago is the one blemish on Reed’s recent resume. Other than that, he’s in career-best form having finished Top 20 in his previous seven starts. The American also finished T13 at last year’s Insurance Open, his best result to date.
Jason Day – $41.00
It’s been almost a year since Jason Day was relevant, last finishing inside the Top 10 at the Travelers Championship back in June. The last time we saw him he missed the cut at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, but he does come into this event well-rested.
Brandt Snedeker – $46.00
Tough to understand how a two-time champ opens at such a long price. Last year’s T62 probably explains it, but Snedeker has still shown some promise to start the New Year carding a T12 at the Sony Open last fortnight.
