By Chris Havlicek Contributor
Updated 1/23/24 5:23pm ET
The golf season has begun in unprecedented fashion and answered dreams for any gamblers with an appetite for major longshots. But will it continue this week when the PGA Tour shifts to a tougher course?
The first event was won by a player with 200-to-1 odds, followed by a 400-to-1 longshot in the second event. Then, last weekend, an amateur with 300-to-1 odds hoisted the trophy, which has not been done since Phil Mickelson in 1991.
Coincidentally, the Tour now heads to Lefty’s hometown.
Dates/Location: The Farmers Insurance Open will be played from Wednesday, January 24th through Saturday, January 27th. It remains the only PGA Tour event that plays Wednesday-Saturday, as opposed to the traditional Thursday-Sunday format.
The Course(s): Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego is once again the host for the Farmers Insurance Open. The golf tournament first started as the San Diego Open in 1952 and moved to Torrey Pines in 1968.
Torrey Pines is a two-course/36-hole set-up located upon cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean coastline. The North Course is a Par-72 playing to 7,258 yards without water. It’s only played for Round 1 on Wednesday. The more difficult South Course is a Par-72 layout and 7,765 yards with water in play on just one hole.
The Torrey Pines South Course was the longest on Tour last year and also features some of the smallest greens. They average just 5,000 square feet to tie for sixth-smallest amongst PGA Tour courses. The fairways and rough on both courses are Ryegrass overseed. The South Course greens are Poa Annua and typically a tougher and bumpier surface to handle. Torrey Pines has proven annually to be the most difficult course to make putts inside 15 feet.
The Field: 156 Players
Max Homa (No. 7) returns to defend his title as the fourth-favorite at +1200, and he’s one of 12 players ranked in the top 30 in the Official World Golf Rankings who will tee it up. San Diego native Xander Schauffele (No. 5) is the highest-ranked player in the field and the betting favorite at +900. Two others with Southern California ties, Patrick Cantlay (No. 6) and Collin Morikawa (No. 12), are tied for second-favorite status at +1100.
Highly-ranked stars who finished top-10 last year returning include 13th-ranked Keegan Bradley (2nd) and Morikawa (3rd). Other notable names include Sam Ryder, Sahith Theegala (No. 19), Sungjae Im (No. 28), Jason Day (No. 18), Tony Finau (No. 26), and Hideki Matsuyama, who has fallen out of the top 50 to No. 53 in the world.
Odds (Top Ten) – (Courtesy of FanDuel)
- Xander Schauffele +900
- Patrick Cantlay +1100
- Collin Morikawa +1100
- Max Homa +1200
- Ludvig Aberg +2000
- Sungjae Im +2200
- Min Woo Lee +2200
- Tony Finau +2500
- Jason Day +2500
- Keegan Bradley +3300
Keys to Victory:
Par-4 scoring appears to be the recipe for success at Torrey Pines. The last 10 winners have gained eight strokes on the field on the par 4’s. Perform well on the brutally long par-4s and you will likely be in contention.
Power is another primary skill needed to capture the championship, especially given the rain that has drenched the course over the last few days. It starts off the tee but also needed from tee to green. Shorter hitters will be hitting long irons into some of the smallest greens on the PGA Tour, as mentioned above.
Expect modest scoring throughout the week per round. As an example, the cut last week at the American Express was 13-under par. That’s the average winning score at Torrey Pines.
Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock
