Daily Fantasy Golf FanDuel Picks (PGA DFS) - Farmers Insurance Open

Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel slate for the Farmers Insurance Open, providing information of not only who will come into the week under-owned but also who should be avoided for your lineups.

Hello RotoBaller PGA crew! It's great to be back with you guys and I appreciate you joining us here at RotoBaller!

In this article we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the Farmers Insurance Open. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges, breaking the groups down into "High", "Mid", and "Low" price options, as well as a couple of GPP Value Plays worth considering.

Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!

Farmers Insurance Open - PGA DFS Overview

Torrey Pines

South Course: 7,765 Yards - Par 72 - Greens: Poa Annua - Designer: William Bell

North Course: 7,258 Yards - Par 72 - Greens: Bent w/ Poa - Designer: William Bell

While nothing like last week's American Express, we are again faced with rotating courses this week. Over the first two rounds, players will play once on Torrey Pines South and once on Torrey Pines North. Those that make the cut will finish out the weekend on the South course, the more famous and difficult of the two.

The South course hosted the 2008 U.S. Open and is slated to host the 2021 U.S. Open later this year, if that gives you any indication as to its quality. The two courses are vastly different with the North playing much easier than the difficult South. For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!

Let's Look At The Stats

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Approach
• Strokes Gained: T2G
• Driving Distance
• SG: Putting - Poa Annua
• Total Driving

Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)

We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.

High-Priced FanDuel DFS Players 

Rory McIlroy ($12,200)

After being negatively impacted by last year's COVID-19 layoff, Rory McIlroy appears to be heading in the right direction again, posting a top-10 at the U.S. Open and a T5 at the Masters to close out 2020. He also looked sharp en route to a third-place finish last week at the Abu Dhabi (though once again underwhelmed in the final round). McIlroy brings that trending form to a Torrey layout on which he's posted two top-five results in two career starts. He's a master with the driver (first in this field SG: OTT using long-term measurements) and Torrey South's behemoth-like 7,765-yards won't be an issue for him.

Jon Rahm ($12,100)

The Spaniard has been a bull at Torrey Pines throughout his career, winning the 2017 Farmers and posting additional top-five finishes in each of the last two years. His 41.61 career Strokes Gained: Total at the Farmers places him second in this field. Under normal circumstances Rahm would be a "no brainer" this week, but there are some underlying concerns here, as he was forced to WD from last week's AmEx...some sources say due to a weightlifting injury, while some speculate that his travel to a Spanish soccer match made teeing it up impossible...either way, this will be Rahm's first action since a T7 at the Sentry.

In addition to the mini-layoff, Rahm is also breaking in a new set of clubs after signing an equipment deal with Callaway at the beginning of 2021. There seemed to be no issues at Kapalua, as he gained 4.3 strokes T2G, though he did lose fractions of a stroke to the field on Approach. All in all, it's tough to ignore Rahm's record on this golf course and there is unquestionably tournament-winning upside that comes with rostering him.

Tony Finau ($11,300)

It's a tough time to be a Tony Finau fan (I am), as it feels like he let another one slip away last week in the final round of the AmEx. The frustration is certainly setting in for Finau backers due to his infamous inability to actually win golf tournaments. That failure to log victories is the issue here this week, as he offers a nice little discount from Rory and Rahm, but we have to believe we're losing a lot of win equity by dropping down to Finau. However, if it's ever gonna happen for our guy, we have to feel that it's going to be on a golf course like Torrey Pines...long, tough, Poa greens. Finau has been exceptional in this event, posting three finishes inside the top-six over his last four Farmers starts. The wait for a win continues...

Harris English ($11,100)

Even though Harris English was one of the most consistent players in the world in 2020 and finally broke through with a win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions a few weeks ago, it feels as though he might still get lost in the shuffle a bit this week. English's play of the last 18 months almost demands that he's priced with the "big boys", but it still feels a little strange to pull the trigger on him at this price, I suppose due to "name recognition" or lack thereof. However, I'm willing to pay the freight on the Georgia Bulldog due to both his consistency and proven ability to navigate tough golf courses (top-five in U.S. Open at Winged Foot, a runner-up and a T8 at Torrey in eight career Farmers starts).

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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Matthew Wolff ($10,500)

As we work our way down the board there's a lot to love. That starts with Matthew Wolff, a player that undoubtedly comes with some volatility, but that also possesses tournament-winning upside. While the last couple of events on the schedule have forced us to consider basically the entire field, that's not the case this week, as this lengthy Torrey Pines layout allows us to eliminate a good chunk of the field from our player pool. Wolff is one of the players that we want to target, as he certainly checks the boxes we're looking for this week...very long off the tee, explosive scorer, handles tough courses well, and - this is a big one - has shown an affinity for Poa Annua greens during his young career.

Marc Leishman ($10,400)

The defending Farmers Open champion suffered through an abysmal stretch over the latter half of 2020, but the Big Aussie appears to have things figured out in 2021. Leishman has recently flashed some signs that he’s ready to return to the form that helped him capture the 2020 edition of the Farmers Insurance Open. I’ve been bullish on the Aussie’s potential to bounce-back this year and he’s looked right on track in his two 2021 starts, posting encouraging Approach numbers at the Sentry ToC and logging a T4 at the Sony Open while leading the field in Strokes Gained: Total. In addition to last year's win, he has also posted a pair of runner-up finishes with two additional top-10s over 12 career starts.

Jason Day ($10,300)

This one is tricky, but nonetheless intriguing. Trying to predict Jason Day over the last couple of years has been something of a fool’s errand, as his play has been erratic to say the least. The Aussie’s Farmers record is an interesting microcosm of his career as a whole...two wins, two top-fives, and two missed cuts in his last eight Farmers starts. So while Day is perhaps just as likely to WD as win this week, the volatility might be worth embracing in GPPs due to his potential ability to navigate this very long and difficult golf course.

Bubba Watson ($10,100)

Like the aforementioned Jason Day, Bubba Watson is a tough player to figure out. However, we know that there are certain golf courses that he likes and he has a tendency to repeatedly play well on those select layouts. Torrey Pines definitely qualifies as a "Bubba Track", as the lefty has logged a win and three top-10s in nine career starts at Torrey. He hasn't teed it up yet in 2021, but closed 2020 on an absolute heater, posting top-10s in two of his last three starts of the year. It might be surprising, but Bubba actually leads this week's field in both SG: T2G and Ball Striking over the last 24 rounds.

Cameron Davis ($9,800)

With so much young talent on the PGA Tour, it's easy to overlook 25-year-old Cameron Davis. While he's not yet found the success of a Morikawa, Hovland, or Wolff...Davis is a talented young player that's slowly, but surely finding his way on the Tour. He heads to the Farmers with some nice momentum, coming off the best PGA Tour finish of his career with a third-place outing last week at the AmEx. He's an Aussie - which I always love targeting at Torrey - that's made the cut in all three of his prior Farmers starts and gained 5.5 strokes on Approach last week. Davis is equipped to handle the length of this layout (13th in this field in Driving Distance) and brings some sneaky scoring ability to the table (sixth in field Birdies or Better Gained).

Ryan Palmer ($9,600)

Ryan Palmer is a player that's been firmly on our DFS radar over the last several months. Palmer once again deserves consideration this week, as he has both strong course history at Torrey Pines (T21-T13-T2 in his last three Farmers starts) and sharp recent form (top-fives in two of his last three starts). The Texan is a player that's tough to trust in DFS, as illustrated by his disappointing T41 at the Sony when everything seemed to be in place for a huge week. Due that volatility, I'd place Palmer in the "GPP Only" bucket, but I do like the potential upside he brings to the table.

Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Corey Conners ($9,500)

While most players in this field have at least one 2021 start under their belt, Corey Conners has yet to tee it up in the new year. That recent inactivity makes it somewhat easy to forget that Conners closed out 2020 on fire. The Canadian logged three top-10s and two top-25s over his last five starts of the '20. Over the last 24 rounds, Conners grades out top-10 in this week's field in SG: T2G, Ball Striking, OTT, and Approach. He posted a T29 in his lone career start at the Farmers and - despite a putter that's tough to trust - feels like a truly nice value here at $9.5k.

Gary Woodland ($9,300)

After slogging through an injury-plagued 2020, Gary Woodland finally looked healthy last week. The 2019 U.S. Open champ gained four strokes T2G en route to T16 at the AmEx...his first top-25 since July of last year! Obviously, Woodland's $9.3k price tag here is based on his recent struggles, so a "healthy we think" Gary Woodland certainly sticks out at this affordable salary. He's logged two top-10s and three top-25s in 11 career Farmers starts and has all the tools necessary to navigate Torrey this week.

Max Homa ($8,900)

A lot of things seem to be pointing in Max Homa's direction this week. He's a Cali kid that posted a T9 in last year's Farmers and is very comfortable with Poa Annua greens. Homa's also displayed improving form in his last two starts, logging a T21 last week at the AmEx - where he was flirting with the lead before a disappointing final round - and a T12 at Mayakoba in his last start of 2020. He's a talented guy that can handle "big boy golf courses", as evidenced by his win at Quail Hollow a couple of years ago.

John Huh ($8,800)

"The Silent Assassin"! Johnny Huh just continues to knock out rock-solid performances with very little fanfare. Huh posted a T21 last week at the AmEx, his fourth top-25 in his last four starts. He's gained strokes T2G in each of those outings and heads to a Torrey Pines layout where he's made the cut in eight of his nine Farmers starts, with two top-10s.

GPP Value Options

Maverick McNealy ($8,600)

After an encouraging opening-round 67 last week at the AmEx, Mav proceeded to play horribly over the subsequent three rounds, eventually settling for a finish of 71st. Admittedly, it's not a great way to head into the Farmers, but I'm still intrigued with him as a salary saver due to his upside. We've seen McNealy run hot and cold throughout his career, which means he's capable of shaking off last weekend when he gets to Torrey Pines. He's a Stanford alum that's fared well at Torrey, posting a 15th and a T29 in two career Farmers starts. His California roots help him to navigate Poa better than most and he's a value option worth considering.

Brandt Snedeker ($8,500)

Outside of being accurate off the tee, there are no statistical indicators that Brandt Snedeker is currently playing or about to play good golf. However, we can throw form out the window with Sneds on some golf courses and Torrey Pines definitely qualifies. In 14 career Farmers starts, the Vandy product has won this tournament twice, posted four top-three finishes, and two additional top-10s! In other words, the dude is a BEAST on this layout...for whatever reason (his proficiency on Poa Annua is a big factor). So while I normally like to justify my picks to you guys with statistical reasoning, Sneds is purely a course-history play that you might want to toss in a few GPP lineups.

Patrick Rodgers ($7,900)

I like to play Patrick Rodgers under two circumstances: 1.) Long golf courses with four Par-5s and 2.) Poa Annua greens.

Torrey Pines checks both those boxes and while Rodgers' track record in the Farmers is erratic (three missed cuts since 2016), it also demonstrates his upside (T9 last year, T4 in 2017). We're out of the realm of "safety" at this price tag, but guys with top-10 upside and sub-$8k price tags are hard to find.

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Our very own Joe Nicely took down a big DraftKings DFS tournament for the Travelers Championship. And as an encore, RotoBaller subscriber @tenndolly2 won $100K on FanDuel with the help of Joe and the rest of our Premium PGA team:

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