RADIO
Normally one of the sleepier events on the PGA Tour schedule, the 2024 edition of the American Express turned into a historical affair. University of Alabama sophomore and reigning U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson did it in 1991. It was no fluke, as the 20-year-old entered the final round with the lead and held off the likes of Sam Burns and Justin Thomas for the victory.
While Dunlap has elected to skip this week's Farmers Insurance Open to be with his family, a star-studded field is once again set to tee it up at Torrey Pines for this year's edition of the popular event.
Horse For The Course is an article that highlights players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For my favorite DFS plays of the week check out my Core Four article here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using Promo Code: NICE for an extra discount at checkout!
2024 Farmers Insurance Open
While the Farmers Insurance Open isn't one of the PGA Tour's "designated events" this year, you can make the argument that it needs little help to feel like an important tournament. Landing on the schedule after the laid-back vibe of the Hawaiian Swing and a normally vanilla Pro-Am event in the AmEx, the Farmers sticks out due to the quality of its main host course - Torrey Pines South - and the depth of field that it draws annually with many hardcore golf fans considering this event the "real" start to the season.
While we don't have the same level of shenanigans that we saw at last week's AmEx or will see at next week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Farmers isn't without its quirks. Golfers will play one round each on the difficult Torrey Pines South, and the significantly easier Torrey North layout, before a 36-hole cut determines who will spend the weekend fighting it out at Torrey South. Golfers will need to take advantage of their round on the North course while trying to simply survive on the brutish South, which is one of the longest and toughest layouts on the PGA Tour's annual schedule.
Defending Farmers champion and California native Max Homa will look to go back to back this week. In addition to the always-tough South Course, he'll need to outlast a stout group of competitors that includes Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, and Collin Morikawa. We'll also see some of the game's brightest rising stars in Ludvig Aberg, Min Woo Lee, and Sahith Theegala. This is always a great tournament to watch and for PGA DFS purposes. A reminder, this tournament has a Wednesday start and Saturday finish to avoid conflict with NFL Conference Championship games. Let's dive right into some Farmers' course history!
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The Course: Torrey Pines
South Course: Par 72 - 7,765 Yards, Greens: Poa Annua, Designed By: William Bell
North Course: Par 72 - 7,258, Greens: Bent w/ Poa, Designed By: 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 U.S. Open three years ago if that gives you any indication as to its quality. While we won't see U.S. Open-tough conditions this week, the two courses are vastly different with the North playing much easier than the difficult South.
Players will need to take advantage of their round on the North and survive the South in order to play on the weekend. The cut line is often around even or a few shots over par. Players that make the cut will play both weekend rounds on the South course and it can be brutal. Even with a non-U.S. Open setup it is long and mean with thick rough. The South will test every facet of a player's tee-to-green game. This will send me toward targeting players with complete games rather than a specific strength with an emphasis on golfers who have a history of performing well on tough courses.
Recent Farmers Winners & Scoring Info
- 2023: Max Homa (-13)
- 2022: Luke List (-15)
- 2021: Patrick Reed (-14)
- 2020: Marc Leishman (-15)
- 2019: Justin Rose (-21)
The Horse
Jason Day
- Event Scoring Average: 70.69 (14 career starts)
- Notable Course History: T7 (2023), T3 ('22), T5('19), Win ('18), Win ('15)
- DraftKings Price: $9,500
While Jason Day's fashion sense might have taken a questionable turn in 2024, his golf game seems to be rock solid. After a bounce-back 2023 campaign that included his first PGA Tour win in five years and a runner-up at the Open Championship, Day appears primed to bring that form into 2024, as he's gained total strokes in each of his two starts of the new year, a T10 at the Sentry and a T34 in last week's AmEx.
Always great playing in the desert at @theamexgolf
Next stop Torrey 📍 pic.twitter.com/U7wSKSDfUQ
— Jason Day (@JDayGolf) January 22, 2024
With any winter rust now sufficiently knocked off, the Aussie heads to a Torrey Pines complex where he's been dominant throughout his career. A two-time Farmers Open winner (2015 & 2018), Day has remained excellent at Torrey in recent years even as his game was going through a rough patch. He's logged three top-seven finishes in the Farmers since his 2018 victory.
The veteran's secret for success at Torrey isn't a big secret, as he's still plenty long off the tee and possesses a magical short game. Day grades out fifth among this week's entrants in SG: Around The Green (L50), while he remains one of golf's best putters on the tricky Poa Annua surfaces (ninth in SG: Putting Poa) that he'll face this week at the Farmers.
The Ponies
Xander Schauffele
- Event Scoring Average: 71.25 (Eight career starts)
- Notable Course History: T13 ('23), T34 ('22), T2 ('21), T25 ('19)
- DraftKings Price: $10,600
If you view the entire scope of Xander Schauffele's course history at Torrey Pines you're probably going to come away underwhelmed. That alone is usually enough for a player to be thrown out of consideration for this article. However, Xander's is a special case, as he's a native of San Diego and grew up playing lots of golf at Torrey Pines.
Despite that familiarity and experience, the X-Man struggled mightily in the Farmers at the outset of his career, missing the cut in four of his first five Torrey starts. Whether that was due to family distractions while being in his hometown, nerves in front of friends and family, or simply that the course setup is drastically different than what he grew up playing...we don't know. However, whatever the issue was that caused some struggles at Torrey, Schauffele now seems to have it firmly behind him, as a runner-up in the 2021 edition of the Farmers led the way to a T7 at the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey South and rock-solid finishes in his subsequent Farmers starts (T13 in '23 & T34 '22).
Farmers Insurance Open week has arrived! ✅✅✅
Xander Schauffele has made it home to San Diego, and enters this week as the highest ranked player and crowd favorite at Torrey Pines.
Playing very well, and he has 3 top 15’s in his last 4 trips here. Let’s have a week. pic.twitter.com/zy5QsmtPas
— Xander Schauffele Legion (@XanderLegion) January 22, 2024
The Californian heads into this year's edition in scorching form. He opened 2024 by gaining 6.6 strokes T2G en route to a T10 at the Sentry and followed up with a dazzling T3 result at last week's AmEx, where he gained 11.9 strokes total.
Tony Finau
- Event Scoring Average: 70.41 (Nine career starts)
- Notable Course History: T9 ('23), T2 ('21), T6 ('20), T13 ('19), T6 ('18), T4 ('17)
- DraftKings Price: $9,300
After a breakout 2022 season in which he won three times, Big Tony had a rather quiet-by-his-standards year in 2023. Yes, there was a win at the Mexico Open against a very weak field, but there weren't many additional standout performances from Finau last year.
He's kicked off 2024 in the same rather ho-hum fashion with a T38 at the Sentry and a T25 last week in the AmEx, but there's reason to be optimistic that Finau can find a spark this week at Torrey Pines. He's been a picture of consistency in the Farmers throughout his career and has amassed an eye-popping track record at Torrey that includes top-25 finishes in eight of his nine starts with half of those resulting in T6 or better outcomes. Finau has been dormant for a while now, but if he's going to get his game kicked into gear, this venue makes lots of sense as a breakout spot.
Most SG at the Farmers Insurance Open since 2019 (min. 8 rounds)
Will Zalatoris +2.72 (!!)
Justin Rose +2.51
Sahith Theegala +2.40
Tony Finau +2.40
Sungjae Im +2.25
Max Homa +2.06
-----------
Xander Schauffele +1.90
Jason Day +1.88
Keegan Bradley +1.66 pic.twitter.com/MOP87rA1Tu— Mark Fox (@ThePluggedLie) January 22, 2024
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Sahith Theegala
- Event Scoring Average: 69.75 (Two career starts)
- Notable Course History: T4 ('23), T25 ('22)
- DraftKings Price: $8,700
The Pepperdine product grew up playing in California and he's already done plenty of damage as a pro on the West Coast. Theegala earned his first PGA Tour win at the California-based Fortinet back in September and four of his 14 career top-10 finishes have come in his home state.
Sahith Theegala’s stats from his week at the Farmers Insurance Open‼️
SG: Off The Tee➡️-0.379 (48th🫠)
SG: Approach To Green➡️6.714 (4th☢️)
SG: Around The Green➡️2.43 (14th👏)
SG: Tee To Green➡️8.8 (4th🔥)
Putts per GIR: 1.7 (6th🎯)Nice to see Thee master his iron game pic.twitter.com/mecK4HMzPd
— 🇺🇸🇺🇸THEEGALA FANS🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@TheegalaFans) January 30, 2023
One of those results includes a T4 in last year's Farmers. Theegala has shown an affinity for this Torrey complex - he scored a T25 in his Farmers debut two years ago - and his 69.75 career scoring average in the Farmers is the best in this week's field among those with at least two starts. Theegala narrowly missed a win at the Sentry in the year's kickoff, and though he missed the cut in the Sony on an ill-fitting Waialae layout, there's every reason to believe that his game is primed for another top-10 run at Torrey Pines.
Luke List
- Event Scoring Average: 70.97 (Nine career starts)
- Notable Course History: T25 ('23), Win ('22), T10 ('21), T12 ('18)
- DraftKings Price: $7,800
The ball-striking extraordinaire scored his second career PGA Tour victory back in October at the Sanderson Farms Championship. His first win on Tour? That came two years ago in the Farmers here at Torrey Pines. The victory at Torrey was no fluke, as List has demonstrated a strong affinity for the layout over the years.
First win at Torrey Pines. 🏆
Luke List joins Jon Rahm as the only players to claim their maiden PGA Tour titles at the Farmers Insurance Open in the past 30 years. pic.twitter.com/bWb41AAfKQ
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) January 30, 2022
He's made the cut in seven of his nine career Farmers starts with a pair of top-12 finishes and a T25 in addition to his 2022 playoff win over Will Zalatoris. The book on List is pretty straightforward...he's an elite ball striker (12th in SG: T2G) who struggles with the putter more often than not. However, this challenging Torrey Pines layout emphasizes his excellence from T2G while mitigating his shortcomings with the flat stick thanks to tricky Poa Annua greens that can be a huge equalizer for players who are bad putters.
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