As it was announced in late September, the Farmers Insurance Open is scheduled to start on Wednesday and finish on Saturday.
The adjustment yields many benefits, including an impactful precedent, for it allows the third annual Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour’s Farmers Insurance Invitational to expand to two rounds and conclude on Sunday. Furthermore, like all four rounds of the PGA TOUR’s event at Torrey Pines, the APGA’s final round on the South Course also will be televised.
For details of the annual TOUR stop in La Jolla, California, scroll past the projected contenders.
| 15 Lanto Griffin Continues to prove that he favors the fall and winter months, he’s fresh off a T3 at PGA WEST for his third top 10 of the season. Also 2-for-3 at the Farmers with a T12 (2018) and a T7 (2021). |
| 14 Justin Rose Angled up to his 2019 title here with a T4 in 2017 and a T8 in 2018. A second-round 73 on the Stadium Course last week was due to a triple bogey and a double bogey. Otherwise fine for a T33. |
| 13 Bryson DeChambeau First appearance at the Farmers since 2018 (and pre-fitness/speed/freak of nature). He finished T26 at the 2021 U.S. Open but sat T4 and just two shots off the lead after 54 holes. |
| 12 Tony Finau Although he’s posted 16 red numbers in 18 rounds this season, he hasn’t made bona fide noise, but that form marries with a 7-for-7 record at the Farmers. Four top 10s; worst finish = T24 (2015). |
| 11 Max Homa His record in California is so impressive, and it demands much respect. His home-state slate includes a T9 and a T18 in the last two Farmers, respectively. Opened 2022 with a T15 at Kapalua. |
| 10 Justin Thomas This ends a six-year hiatus from the tournament, but he returned for a T19 at the 2021 U.S. Open. Also has to be licking his chops for a stage that allows his skills to stand apart. |
| 9 Ryan Palmer Set up a T12 at Waialae with signature proficiency off the tee. With that confidence, he can go to work at the Farmers where he’s 4-for-4 (all top 25s) since 2018 with a P2 (2018) and a T2 (2021). |
| 8 Francesco Molinari Converging trends triplicated. Prior to Sunday’s T6 at PGA WEST, his best finish of the last 11 months was a T13 at the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Also finished T10 at 2021 Farmers. |
| 7 Will Zalatoris Rode a course-record 61 on Nick Tourney to a T6 last week, but he’s built better for this week’s ballpark given the premium on a strong tee-to-green game. Finished T7 here last year. |
| 6 Sam Burns Already in his fifth appearance at the Farmers where a T18 last year is a personal best, the 25-year-old has risen into the tier of the elite with consistently strong form no matter the test. |
| 5 Marc Leishman He’s been a staple at Torrey Pines since his debut in 2009. In 13 trips, he prevailed in 2020, checked up twice as a runner-up, posted another two top 10s and still another pair of top 20s. |
| 4 Patrick Reed Never successfully defended a title but all efforts were strong, even on different tracks. No such worry at Torrey Pines where he’s logged five straight top 25s, including a T19 at the 2021 U.S. Open. |
| 3 Xander Schauffele It took the local native six attempts to make a legitimate run … at sharing B-flight honors in 2021, five back of Patrick Reed’s pace. Added a T7 at Torrey Pines in last year’s U.S. Open. |
| 2 Hideki Matsuyama Took last week off after finding another gear to win at Waialae. Power and precision from tee to green is the ticket at the Farmers where he’s 6-for-8 with a T3 (2019) among three top 20s. |
| 1 Jon Rahm You can go home again, or at least feel like you have. He’s cited the deepest level of comfort and personal connection to Torrey Pines where he won his first TOUR event (2017) and his first major. |
The American Express champion Hudson Swafford, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger, Scottie Scheffler and Dustin Johnson will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Draws & Fades (formerly the Fantasy Insider).
The last time that Torrey Pines was in the spotlight, Jon Rahm was posing with the U.S. Open trophy in his possession. That was seven months ago. Only the South Course hosted, and it played to a par of 71 measuring 7,685 yards, but it returns to its customary stock par of 72 for the Farmers Insurance Open. And at 7,765 yards, it’s the longest course under the jurisdiction of the PGA TOUR.
Every golfer in the field of 156 will have one pass at Torrey Pines North. It’s also a stock par 72, but it’s tipped at just 7,258 yards since Tom Weiskopf’s renovation in advance of the 2017 edition. Once the 36-hole cut of low 65 and ties falls, all who survive will play only the South Course in the third and final rounds.
In last year’s first two rounds, the North averaged 70.131 to the South’s 73.955. The South would retreat to 73.340 by the conclusion of the tournament to establish a five-year high – it can’t be ruled out that the setup was more challenging because of early preparation for the U.S. Open – but that disparity proves why it’s imperative to go low on the North. Since it was renovated, the winners of the tournament have averaged 65.6 on the course. All five have scored lower than 70.
Strictly for the record (because the trends likely have more to do with wind and weather than the rotation of tee times), after eight consecutive winners who played the North in the second round, each of the last three opened on the easier of the tandem.
Saving the possibility (likelihood?) for a marine layer in the mornings, conditions will be favorable throughout the tournament, so only darkness could prevent the cut from occurring as scheduled on Thursday. Daytime highs in the 60s will govern the distance balls can fly, but wind isn’t forecast to be a primary threat. Primary rough could be as tall as 3½ inches. The combination bent/Poa greens are ready to roll to 12½ feet on the Stimpmeter.
En route to reaching 14-under 274 for a five-stroke victory in 2021, Patrick Reed averaged just 11 greens in regulation per round to rank T63. However, in vintage fashion, he led the field in putts per GIR (1.591) and converting those chances into par breakers (20 of 44). (ShotLink is used only on the South, so cumulative Stroked Gained statistics and other lasered data applies to at most three rounds.) In addition to pacing the field in par-4 scoring, he finished T3 in par-5 scoring, the latter a fixture of success on par 72s.
While next week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am isn’t an open, professionals who finish inside the top 10 at the Farmers will gain entry via the top-10 provision.
Source: PGA