The PGA Tour this week heads to Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, San Diego, California for the Farmers Insurance Open which hosts the second event in the ‘West Coast Swing’.
This event has been played at Torrey Pines since 1968. The first 36 holes are split between the South course and North course, with the last 36 holes played on the South course. The North course is the shortest and easiest of the two courses. The South course measures 6956 metres and is the longest course played in a regular PGA Tour event.
Torrey Pines hosted the 2008 US Open which was famously won by Tiger Woods after an 18 hole sudden death play-off with Rocco Mediate. Tiger has won this event on seven occasions, including 4 in a row from 2005-2008. This week he is the Defending Champion.
Farmers Insurance have sponsored this event since 2010, prior to this to was more commonly known as the Buick Invitational from 1992-2009. It was originally called the San Diego Open, dating back to 1927.
There are a few keys to winning this event, however the main one is LENGTH!
If you look at the past winners of this event, you will notice names such as Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, Nick Watney, John Daly and Phil Mickelson. These guys rank highly on the distance charts year in and year out.
Another factor is the Poa Annua greens, these can be quite testy at times especially in the morning when fog is around the course. It can make the greens inconsistent and really test a players patience. So we need to take this into account when looking for a possible winner. Guys who have a good putting game should be looked at closely.
Scrambling stats are also a factor at Torrey Pines. Good scramblers have always done well here. Look for a player who is able to get it up and down to win.
The Bookies Top 5 in betting this week are- 5/2 Tiger Woods, 12/1 Phil Mickelson, 22/1 Brandt Snedeker, 25/1 Bill Haas and 28/1 Jordan Spieth.
Taking all these factors into account I have two players who should be worth following this week.
Rickie Fowler 40/1 www.sportsbet.com.au
Last week Rickie blew away the post Christmas and New Year cobwebs with a T33rd in the Humana Challenge. It was a good hit out for him leading into this week as he hit 75% Greens in Regulation, 68% Driving Accuracy, averaged 303 yards with the driver and was -13 on the Par 5’s.
The Farmers Insurance Open is an event that Rickie enjoys. In the last four years he has finished 6th, 13th, 20th and 5th. In that time he has averaged 71.5% of Greens in Regulation and 286 yards in driving distance.
Last year Fowler had 24 starts and made 20 cuts which included 11 Top 25’s and 5 Top 10’s. The highlights were T6th Hyundai Tournament of Champions, T6th Farmers Insurance Open, T3rd Arnold Palmer Invitational, T10th US Open and T9th The Barclays.
Stats wise last season he was ranked in the Top 30 in Strokes Gained Putting, Eagles, Scoring average, sand saves and all round rankings.
Expect to see Rickie up there heading into Sunday. At 40/1 he represents an excellent each way selection.
Brian Stuard 66/1 www.sportsbet.com.au
If you are looking for a player who is having a hot streak at the moment then don’t go past Brian Stuard. He could prove to be a worthy selection at big odds due to his recent form.
This year he has had the two starts. 6th Sony Open and 5th Humana Challenge. When you are hot you are hot! It would be mad not to follow him again this week to see if he can continue the roll. Stats wise he is currently ranked 24th in Greens in Regulation, 6th in Scoring average, 16th in Birdie average and is 9th in Fed-Ex standings.
From 24 starts last year he had 4 Top 10’s which included T5th Sony Open, T10th Humana Challenge, T4th Puerto Rico Open and T6th The Greenbrier Classic.
This will be his third start in the tournament. In 2010 he missed the cut while he finished 39th last year.
Good Luck and Good Punting.
