Farmers Insurance Open
Torrey Pines Golf Club
South Course (host)
North Course
La Jolla, California
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NOW PLAYING:
| Host Course | South Course |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,765. |
| Par: | 72 (36-36). |
| Greens: | Poa annua; 5,000 square feet on average. |
| Stimpmeter: | 13 feet plus. |
| Rough: | Overseeded ryegrass at FOUR inches and growing. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 82/1/1. Pond in front of Par-5 No. 18. |
| Architect(s): | William P. Bell (1957) & William F Bell (1957); Rees Jones (2001, 2019). |
| Defending Champion (event): | Harris English (-8). |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | Jason Day (2018, 2015); Brandt Snedeker (2016, 2012). |
| Course Record (last): | 62; Tiger Woods (1999). |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record: | 22-under; Tiger Woods (1999; last). |
| Fact of the Week: | One round on each course before the top 65 and ties return to the South Course for the final 36 holes. |
| Fact of the Week II: | Playoff hole is 18 on repeat. |
| Fact of the Week III: | Cut was 1-OVER par in 2025, the first time in forever it was above par (weather issues). |
Notes:
- Field of 147.
- Second of three multi-course events in four weeks.
- The OWGR is represented by 27 of the top 50.
- $9.6 million – $1.728 million – 500 FedExCup points – Sentry and Masters ticket punched.
- Points available for the Aon Next 5 for Pebble Beach qualification.
Prop Bets
Top 5 (Including Ties)
Brooks Koepka (+970) makes his first PGA TOUR appearance, major championships notwithstanding, since 2022. While Koepka has not fared well in four visits to the Farmers Insurance Open, he did cash T4 at the 2021 U.S. Open on the South Course. His return to action should have his game ready to go as if it were a major championship. If this is too bold, sprinkle him for a Top 10 or Top 20 just in case.
Jake Knapp (+730) is a former UCLA player who grew up in Costa Mesa. After missing the cut as an amateur in 2015, he returned in 2023 to share fourth, and added T32 in 2025. He opened the season with a T11 payday at the Sony Open and can absolutely send it off the tee. Oh, he also ranked 17th in SG: Putting. Nice combo.
Winner Without Xander Schauffele, Si Woo Kim, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young, and Ludvig Aberg
Jason Day (+2600) has won this event twice, both times in a playoff, and owns five top-five paydays. Coming off a T2 last week, I do not have to wait for him to find form. The Australian’s short game was on point in the desert, and not many know this layout better.
Wyndham Clark (+3900) lit up the Stadium Course at La Quinta for 64, the second-lowest round of the week, before he stalled out with 72 on Sunday for T13. He took only three bogeys for the week, but two were doubles. Without any hazards to worry about this week, minus the pond fronting No. 18, he can whale away off the tee and continue to wield a hot putter. The U.S. Open winner at LACC, he should feel comfortable in the big ballpark this week.
Top 10 (Including Ties)
Red-Hot Ryan Gerard (+405) cashed T2, second, and P2 in his last three worldwide starts. On debut at Torrey Pines in 2025, he grinded out a T15 result in difficult scoring conditions. Already a winner on California grass at the Barracuda Championship last summer, he won’t be bothered by Poa annua on the putting surfaces. I can’t imagine he is short on confidence, either.
Andrew Novak (+730) was the only player to cash a check inside the top 15 in both events held at Torrey Pines in 2025. Playing from the final group with eventual champion Harris English at the Farmers Insurance Open, he posted 74 and finished third. Returning for The Genesis Invitational, he posted three of four rounds in the red and earned T13.
I felt Sahith Theegala (+690) was priced for pouncing last week at The American Express. Not even an opening round of 71 could keep him out of the top 10 (T8). Another week in his native California, he will attempt to build on his five-from-five record at Torrey Pines, which includes T4 in 2023, plus T17 from The Genesis Invitational in 2025, where he closed 69-68.
Top 20 (Including Ties)
Max Homa (+225) continues to knock on the door of a breakthrough. Over his last five starts on TOUR, he has five results of T40 or better, including three at T19 or better. He opened 2026 by posting T27 with four rounds in the 60s at The American Express. The 2023 Farmers Insurance Open winner cashed four T19 or better paydays in his last six starts at Torrey Pines.
Haotong Li (+315) squared only three bogeys at The American Express and cashed T8 in his second start of the season (T55 Sony Open). Ranking second in SG: Tee to Green, he was a beast off the tee, and into the greens. He gained the second most shots on the field on the South Course, the most difficult of the three courses in play. The recipe at Torrey Pines is not complicated. Smash it, find it, and smash it again.
S.H. Kim (+430) cashed in this category last week after closing with 66 for T18. In fact, this was his seventh consecutive payday where he earned T18 or better in his last seven worldwide events. This is a recording.
Par-4 Winner
History shows that eight of the last nine winners have finished the week T7 or better in this category. Three of those winners have led the field in this category, including 2025 champion Harris English, and one ended up second overall. Instead of plucking out one of the top Par-4 performers from the 2025 season-ending stats, I would marry this play to your champion and try to double-dip. The conservative play would be the former. I will ride with Jason Day (+4100), who ranked T27 in 2025.
Will there be a playoff?
Yes (+400)
No (-650)
There has been only one playoff required in the last seven events and just two since Jason Day won a four-man shootout in 2015. The 18th hole is a Par-5 with water proteccting the perched final green. A perfect drive means TIME TO GO for the green in regulation. There is plenty of room to bail out long, right, and left, but pressure does funny things to even the best players. With the forecast suggesting PERFECT scoring conditions, I am going to ride the drama angle. Let’s gamble!
Recent Winners
2026 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | No Event |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Chris Gotterup |
| The American Express | Scottie Scheffler |
| Farmers Insurance Open |
2025 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Nick Taylor |
| The American Express | Sepp Straka |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Harris English |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Rory McIlroy |
| WM Phoenix Open | Thomas Detry (LIV) |
| The Genesis Invitational | Ludvig Aberg |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Brian Campbell (first time) |
| Cognizant Classic | Joe Highsmith (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Russell Henley |
| Puerto Rico Open | Karl Vilips (first time) |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Rory McIlroy |
| Valspar Championship | Viktor Hovland |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Min Woo Lee (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Brian Harman |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy (career grand slam) |
| RBC Heritage | Justin Thomas |
| Zurich Classic | Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first time winners) |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Scottie Scheffler |
| Truist Championship | Sepp Straka (2) |
| Mrytle Beach One Flight | Ryan Fox |
| 106th PGA Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Ben Griffin (2) |
| The 50th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Canadian Open | Ryan Fox (2) |
| 124th United States Open | J.J. Spaun |
| Travelers Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Aldrich Potgieter (first time) |
| John Deere Classic | Brian Campbell (2) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Chris Gotterup |
| ISCO Championship | William Mouw (first time) |
| 152nd Open Championship | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Barracuda Championship | Ryan Gerard (first time) |
| 3M Open | Kurt Kitayama |
| Wyndham Championship | Cameron Young (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Justin Rose |
| BMW Championship | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| The TOUR Championship | Tommy Fleetwood (first time) |
| FedEx Cup Fall | |
| Procore Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Steven Fisk (first time) |
| Black Desert Championship | Michael Brennan (first time) |
| Baycurrent Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| World Wide Technology Champ | Ben Griffin (3) |
| Butterfield Bermuda Champ | Adam Schenk (first time) |
| The RSM Classic | Sami Valimaki (first time) |
Recent Winners – Farmers Insurance Open
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2025 | Harris English (-8) | Gusty conditions in three of the four rounds made for difficult scoring. English won for the fifth time on TOUR, holding off Sam Stevens by a shot. |
| 2024 | Mattieu Pavon (-13) | First TOUR victory in just his third start with a card; 11th TOUR start. First appearance. |
| 2023 | Max Homa (-13) | Defeated Keegan Bradley by two shots. |
| 2022 | Luke List (-15) | Shot 66 on Sunday and then defeated Will Zalatoris in a playoff. First TOUR win. |
| 2021 | Patrick Reed (-14) | Won by five shots. |
| 2020 | Marc Leishman (-15) | Won by a shot. |
| 2019 | Justin Rose (-21) | Missed tying the course record by a shot. |
| 2018 | Jason Day (-10) | Knocked out Ryan Palmer (not entered) and Alex Noren in a playoff for his second win and second in a playoff. |
| 2017 | Jon Rahm (-13) | Won by three shots on debut and secured his first TOUR win. |
| 2016 | Brandt Snedeker (-6) | Extreme weather turned the event upside down. Snedeker won for the second time without having to play the final day. |
Angles
- The South Course is annually one of the toughest tracks on TOUR.
- The North Course scores almost 2.5 shots easier on average.
- Power players, elite short game artists, and grinders thrive.
- The last 11 winners ranked in the top 10 for Bogey Avoidance.
- The cut has never been worse than EVEN over the last decade until 2025.
- Gaining strokes tee to green and on the greens will go a long way.
- Only Snedeker posted a round in the 70s on the North Course and went on to win.
- South Course – take your medicine, attack when given the chance, try to get up-and-down on the Par-5 holes.
- North Course – Time to score!
One and Done – Spotter’s Game
1 player per event, plus a backup selection if your original choice does not tee off.
1 use per year.
LAST WEEK – The American Express
MY CHOICE: Ben Griffin – T24
After opening with 63, I was #Excited.
After finishing bogey, bogey, I was #NotExcited and out an additional 80k.
We move on.
| Event | Selection | Place | Earnings |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Robert MacIntyre | T4 | 409,500 |
| The American Express | Ben Griffin | T24 | 81,420 |
| Farmers Insurance |
THIS WEEK – Farmers Insurance Open
The script flips entirely as the TOUR moves from the resort courses of the California desert to a major championship venue on the La Jolla coast.
The contenders this week will not be able to spray it all over the property and still circle birdies.
Nobody hits the fairways here, and not many more find GIR. The farther it goes with the driver, the more loft into the small greens. Then it’s time to putt on Poa annua in three of the four rounds (Bentgrass on the North).
I’m leaning on power players with excellent short game.
MY CHOICE: Jason Day
With six podium paydays, including two victories, the Australian knows the way home at Torrey Pines. Sharing second last week, I do not have to worry about him rounding into form or searching for confidence. His template is the model here. Smash it, chip it, and hole it. Both of his wins came in extra holes.
Day did not factor into my plans in the majors or Signature Events, so he takes the bullet this week. Ludvig Aberg does.
Others to consider
Max Homa, Taylor Pendrith, Akshay Bhatia, Sam Stevens, Tony Finau
Longshots– Andrew Novak, Beau Hossler, Patrick Rodgers, Pierceson Coody
Horses for Courses
Keegan Bradley – 8 straight weekends
Tony Finau – 5 of last 7 Top 10, including Genesis Invitational
Luke List – 9 straight weekends, former champion
Hideki Matsuyama – 9 straight weekends, only one top-10 payday
Taylor Pendrith – 3 of 4 T16 or better, never missed a cut in four
Adam Scott – T10 and 2nd in two visits
Andrew Novak – 3rd and T13 last year
Glass Houses 