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Farmers Insurance Open

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Farmers Insurance Open

Course     Torrey Pines South – Par 72 (7698 yds)    Torrey Pines North – Par 72 (7050 yds)

Last Year’s Winner – Scott Stallings(-9)

This week the PGA tour makes a stop at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California for the Farmers Insurance Open. The Farmers Insurance Open is played on two courses(Torrey Pines North & South) with the South Course being one of the longest and hardest on tour. All players get a shot at the North and South courses Thursday and Friday. After the cut has been established the remaining players will play the final 36 holes on the South course only. Torrey Pines North has traditionally scored 1-3 strokes better than the South course, which is to be expected with an almost 700 yard difference. Putting will be a premium stat this week with the Poa Annua greens which can get bumpier throughout the day.

When making my picks I use a combination of factors each week. I use 3-5 stat categories that fit the course layout, Vegas Odds, past performances, current form. The stat categories I will be using this week are:

• All Around Ranking
• Driving Distance
• Greens in Regulation
• Proximity to Hole
• Strokes Gained: Putting
• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green

Tier 1 Targets (DraftKings price $8500-Max)

Jimmy Walker $14,000 (Vegas Odds- 15/1) – I found it tough to pick between the top 3 guys this week. First off, Walker is the cheapest of the 3. In comparing course history it comes down to Day & Walker where each have had 2 top 10’s and a MC in last 3 trips. Finally when I look at stats Walker comes out on top. He is top 30 in all 6 categories highlighted by a 3^rd in All Around Ranking, 11^th in Strokes Gained Putting and 13^th in Strokes Gained Tee to Green.

Hideki Matsyuma $11,700 (Vegas Odds-21/1) – My second choice this week in the first Tier is Matsyuma. He is $2300 cheaper than Walker with the same upside in my eyes. He is top 40 in 5/6 stats categories with a 8^th in All Around Ranking, 9^th in Strokes Gained Tee to Green, 21^st in Proximity to Hole. His weakest stat is putting at 69^th which is on the fringe of what I am looking for. In his only start at the Farmers he finished tied for 16th last year. For cash games Matsyuma is a better Tier 1 choice as his lower price allows you to construct a more solid lineup.

Tier 2 Targets (DraftKings price $7000-$8400)

Tier 2 is my favorite tier for cash games on DK. They provide winning upside, great stats and fair prices.

Martin Laird $8300 (Vegas Odds-51/1) – I was on Laird last week and almost took down the PGA Chip Shot. He was low owned and if not for the Double Bogey late Sunday he would have possibly been in a playoff with Koepka. I like him again this week as he is great form and is top 60 in 4/6 categories and on the fringe in 2 others. He is 24^th in All Around Ranking, 24^th in Driving Distance, 54^th in Strokes Gained Putting and 28^th in Strokes Gained Tee to Green.

Charley Hoffman $8300 (Vegas Odds-51/1) – Hoffman has the 2^nd best Vegas Odds in this Tier and finished 7^th here last year. Charley also sits top 60 in 4/6 stats. He is 20^th in All Around Ranking, 36th in GIR, and 35^th in Strokes Gained Tee to Green. His lone stat outside the top 100 is Strokes Gained Putting so If he can put together a nice run of putting to fit with his other good stats he could have a great shot at top finish.

Tier 3 Targets (DK price $5500-6900)

Brendon de Jonge $6500 (Vegas odds-101/1) – Brendon is the first target of mine that isn’t a top 100 in Driving Distance. He does however come in top in 4/6 stats including 30^th All Around Ranking, 37^th in Greens in Regulation, and 43^rd in Strokes Gained Putting. He finished T15 with a -6 here in 2013 with some not so great performances around that. With his current form and cheaper price a Top 25 shouldn’t be out of the question.

Ryo Ishikawa $5900 (Vegas odds-126/1) – This pick is strictly based off stats. He is top 60 in 5/6 categories. The only category he lacks a top is Strokes Gained Putting which is a concern and the reason for his poor current form but if he can put the flat stick to work at all this week he should make the cut. He finished T7 here last year and T13 in 2012 with a MC in between. With his price at $5900 I like his chances of making the cut and playing the weekend.

Tier 4 Targets (DK price $Min-$5400)

This Tier consists of the lowest priced guys available on Draftkings. Be careful when selecting from this Tier and try and only use these guys for your GPP’s.

Hudson Swafford $5000 (Vegas Odds-151/1) – This pick is based off current form and stats. He is top 60 in 5/6 categories. He has finished Top 20 in the first 3 fall events and then has fallen off and missed 2 straight cuts since the beginning of the “regular season”. If he can put it together and make the cut he is a great value play to help you go Stars and Scrubs in a GPP.

Carlos Ortiz $4400 (Vegas odds-301/1) – Ortiz finished 1^st on the money list last season on the Web.com tour and had 3 wins in total. So far this year on the PGA Tour wrap around schedule he has made 5/7 cuts including last weeks Waste Management Open. He finishes Top 60 in 3/6 categories and outside top 100 in 3/6 categories making him a GPP play only. He is 26^th in Strokes Gained Putting and 36^th in Driving Distance which is a good sign for this course.

***All stats are from pgatour.com and all Vegas odds are from Bodog***

Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA and of course PGA. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any PGA questions and how he copes with the winters up north.  

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