Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2015 Farmers Insurance Open from Torrey Pines

This Week’s Tournament Preview

With the spotlight surrounding Tiger Woods’ comeback quickly fading—Tiger shot a career worst 82 in the 2nd round of the WM Phoenix—the press will now shift its attention to see if he can bounce back at Torrey Pins, a track that has been the site of eight of Woods’ career wins.

Mickelson, who played well in La Quinta but missed the cut on his “money course” last week, will also be back in action at Torrey Pines where he has a, not too shabby, four career victories of his own. Tiger and Phil may be overlooked in most players’ fantasy rosters, but don’t be so quick to jump to that conclusion yet. Here is a little history lesson about Tiger’s dominance at Torrey Pines (don’t miss his putt at 47-seconds):

Another major headline this week will be the comeback of long ball hitter Dustin Johnson, who took a leave of absence from the game for personal reasons and alleged drug related issues. DJ hasn’t played competitive golf since missing the cut at the Canadian Open last summer but rumor has it that he unofficially broke Tiger Woods’ course record at Sherwood CC in October 2014 by carding a 61 during a friendly round with soon-to-be father-in-law Wayne Gretzky.

Among these three headliners will be FedExCup leader Jimmy Walker and recent Humana Champion Bill Haas. Names like Fowler, Day, Spieth, and the hot rookie Justin Thomas will all be back in action at the San Diego based public golf course this week, and Justin Rose will make his first appearance of the season on US soil.

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

We saw the chance for a big week slip away from us as the tricky wet conditions in Scottsdale sent a few of our favorites (and early leaders) down the leaderboard. At the end of the week we finished with six out of our seven picks making the cut, along with two top 10 finishers including one of our Sleepers (Streb T10) and picks to win (Palmer T2). The result was a solid showing for our picks in most DraftKings and other salary cap leagues given all the field shakeups this week.

Palmer had a chance to tie Koepka for a playoff but came up just short in the end on the final hole.

With the 10th event of the wrap-around season in the books, we are currently averaging just over $900,000 per event in weekly fantasy earnings with a 90% made-cut ratio, 21 Top 10’s and 11 Top 3 finishers.

The Field

Another robust field will step foot into Torrey Pines this week with an all-star lineup of 13 players in the Top 25 of the World Rankings on the ballot. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will try to stage a comeback and quiet critics, while a long list of others will be seeking their first career wins, and a handful trying to make it two on the season.

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We are so blessed to have a happy and healthy baby boy. @paulinagretzky A photo posted by Dustin Johnson (@djohnsonpga) on Jan 21, 2015 at 10:05am PST

Woods has eight Farmers Insurance Open trophies to his name and even won on this course one additional time when the 2008 U.S. Open was in town. Justin Rose, who has been flaunting his off-season hard work on all of his social media feeds, will test his skills in the U.S for the first time since the FedExCup playoffs. Again, most of the golf world will be focusing its attention on the much-anticipated return of Dustin Johnson, who recently became a father with his fiancée Paulina Gretzky. We’ll see if he can bounce back to become the dominant player he once was.

In total, this week’s field will contain 152 players and the truth is that just about any one of them can run away with it. We’ll be analyzing all 152 to see who has the best chance of winning this week at Torrey Pines in our picks segment below.

The Course

Torrey Pines GC (South Course) measures in at a whopping 7,698 yards and plays as a par 72. This William Bell design was born in 1957 and sits along a breathtaking Pacific Ocean Cliffside.

Torrey Pines has been the annual stop on TOUR for a San Diego based event since 1968 and it underwent a major upgrade in 2001 by course designer Rees Jones—which led to them landing the 2008 U.S. Open. Players in this week’s field will also have to play the North Course for early rounds due to the high volume of players—and that track plays much shorter at just above 7,000 yards (Par 72). Check for more in-depth course and players stats in our “This Week’s Fantasy Notes” section below.

A photo posted by Gregoire Desfond (@gregoiredesfond) on Jan 29, 2015 at 11:29pm PST

Weather Forecast for San Diego, CA (from weather.com)

There is absolutely no threat of rain in the San Diego area this week and the course should remain dry throughout the duration of the event. With temperatures in the 70’s and sunshine throughout, expect extremely nice weather this week for the Famers Insurance Open.

2014 Results

Scott Stallings notched his 3rd career PGA TOUR victory last year by breaking out of a five-way tie with a clutch birdie at the par-5 18th. Stallings sat in the clubhouse only to watch the rest of the pack fall apart coming down the stretch. An outstanding second shot 4-iron that cleared the water on 18 and landed on the green, put Stallings in within reach of an eagle attempt, but only a birdie was needed to take the lead. He did just that in 2-putt fashion.

Gary Woodland came close to Stallings but his double on 17 after hooking his tee shot violently into the a canyon stopped him from making up the ground he needed. Jason Day also bogeyed No.17 and ended up tying for second with Pat Perez, Marc Leishman and Graeme DeLaet.

Tiger Woods missed the Saturday cut-line and Mickelson had to WD after injuring his back. Something tells us you could see the same scenario play out with these guys again this week, but, we hope they prove us wrong.

Here is a full recap of what happened in the final round of the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open:

This Week’s Broadcast Schedule

Television Broadcasts Thursday – Friday 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm EST (Golf Channel) Saturday – Sunday 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm EST (Golf Channel) Saturday – Sunday 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST (CBS)



Radio Broadcasts (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM) Thursday – Friday 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm EST Saturday – Sunday 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST



Mobile Broadcasts Simultaneous coverage on the Golf Live Extra app for iPhone and iPad.



This Week’s Fantasy Notes

There’s no doubt that the South Course at Torrey Pines is a difficult test to even the best in the game. As the longest course on the PGA TOUR schedule, the average score on this track in 2014 was a lofty 73.8 and the course consistently yields some of the worst GIR, scrambling, and fairways hit percentages.

The nice weather should help scores a bit this week, and there’s no question that a long ball hitter can be easily favored this week.

All players this week will get one crack at the 7,000 yard North course before the South track becomes the only course for the weekend. With so many big names in the field this week, we’re going to key in on those three aforementioned stats, but we’re making sure driving distance and accuracy factor in as well.

Advice of the week: If you’re playing in a salary-cap league (e.g. DraftKings or Fantasy Feud), pick one solid horse and bet big on him, then fill in the next two slots with a few mid-priced studs. Aim for two picks with price tags in the $7K-$9K range and then round out the rest of your roster by grabbing a few solid sleeper picks in the $5k-6,500 range.

Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the 2015 Farmers Insurance Open

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Last Week’s Results: Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the 2015 WM Phoenix Open

Rickie Fowler: (Golficity Odds 10/1): T46 (17,658)

Matt Kuchar (Golficity Odds 12/1): T30 ($36,729)

Justin Thomas (Golficity 18/1): T17 ($94,500)

Brendan Steele (Golficity Odds 28/1): T26 ($50,253)

Ryan Palmer (Golficity Odds 28/1): T2 (470,400)

Last Week’s Results: Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win the 2015 WM Phoenix Open

Robert Streb (Golficity Odds 35/1): T10 ($157,500)

Last Week’s Results Salary Cap Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the 2015 WM Phoenix Open

Scott Piercy (Golficity Odds 50/1): MC

Fantasy Golf Predictions YTD Stats: 2014-2015 Season

Tournaments Played 2014-2015 Season: 10.

Total Fantasy Dollars for the season: $9,065,703 ($906,570 weekly average).

Total Top 10s: 21 out of 70 picks (30.00%).

Total Top 3s: 11 out of 70 picks (15.71%).

Runner-Up Finishers: 4 in 10 events (40%).

Total Winners Picked: 1 in 10 events (10%).

Total Missed Cuts: 7 out of 70 players picked (90% made the cut).

Remember to visit the The Clubhouse and our private Facebook group to discuss this week’s picks for the 2015 Farmers Insurance Open with other Premium Members.

Want even more fantasy golf coverage for the Farmers Insurance Open? Check out this week’s bonus Fantasy Sleeper Report here for additional long-shot picks to round out your roster.

(Cover Photo Credit)

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