The only tournament on the 2024 PGA Tour schedule to start on Wednesday and finish on Saturday, the Farmers Insurance Open returns to Torrey Pines Golf Course for the 56th time this week.
Due to TV scheduling conflicts, this tournament is a rare case of the PGA Tour shifting from its traditional Thursday start.
The event will be contested across two courses – North and South – with both in use across the first two rounds before rounds three and four take place on just the South Course. The North Course is a 7,258-yard par-72 and the South a 7,765-yard, par-72.
With both courses sitting on the coast of San Diego overseeing the Pacific Ocean, the big hitters in the field are expected to have the advantage hitting into the cool, heavy coastal air.
Let’s get into our resident golf expert Jason Sobel’s tips and predictions for the event.
Read more: Farmers Insurance schedule, courses, players, prize money, and more
To Win Outright – Xander Schauffele (+900)
My favorite outright play this week also happens to be the favorite on the board.
Schauffele started out his Farmers Insurance Open career with four missed cuts in his first five starts. He’s a hometown kid, he’s always wanted to play well here. The last three years, things have gotten much better for Schauffele. He comes in on the heels of a t-3rd last week in Palm Springs, and I really like how his game matches up with this golf course.
I don’t, however, love the price on him this week, even though he is my favorite outright.
Here’s my suggestion: Schauffele is starting out on the South course, the tougher of the two venues used over the first two days. Let’s take a wait and see approach and see how he plays on the first day. I would love to see something in the 72, 73 range where he’s not at the top of the leaderboard but he’s not so far back that we can’t play him. Let’s hopefully get a bugger number.
Keep Xander Schauffele in mind for a live play as this tournament progresses.
To Win Outright – Austin Eckroat (+12500)
I know you guys are looking for some longshots right now. I’m going to give you Austin Eckroat, who leads the PGA Tour in total driving. The kid has a very good swing.
I’m essentially looking at guys that have a good long and mid-iron game this week. The South course is playing north of 7,700 yards, torrential rains on Monday means it should be soft and wet and playing even longer than that 7,700 on the card.
I want guys who can absolutely smash it this week, and Eckroat fits the bill at a triple-digit number.
Top-10 Finish – Tony Finau (+300)
This is a guy I have liked at this tournament for nearly a full decade. Finau has a fantastic record at Torrey Pines, he’s come close a couple of times but he’s always right up there. So I’m going to go with ‘Top-10 Tony,’ and play him for a top-10 finish this week at a course that obviously suits his game.
Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.
