The 2020 Farmers Insurance Open boasts the PGA Tour’s strongest field of the calendar year to date. Justin Rose is back to defend his 2019 title at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, but he’ll need to hold off a group led by Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tiger Woods. Woods is competing for a ninth career win at Torrey Pines and a record-setting 83rd career win on the PGA Tour.
The entire field will split their first two rounds between Torrey Pines’ North and South Courses. Those who survive the 36-hole cut will move to the South Course for their final 36 holes over the weekend.
Farmers Insurance Open: Top 30
Here are my top-30 fantasy golf rankings for the 2020 Farmers Insurance at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
30. Luke List
List missed the cut at both the Sony Open in Hawaii and The American Express, but he tied for 12th here in 2018 and followed it up with a T-40 last year. He’s very strong tee-to-green and typically performs well at these longer courses.
29. Matthew Wolff
The Tour sophomore finished just T-61 last week coming off a T-11 result at the 30-man Sentry Tournament of Champions. He’s not a true contender here, but he’s a safe pick to make it to the weekend.
28. J.B. Holmes
Holmes missed the cut in 2019 after picking up three top-10 results in his previous four appearances. He’s been in poor form since last year’s Genesis Open win, but his best golf typically comes early in the calendar year.
27. Brendan Steele
The Sony Open runner-up finished just T-43 last week. He has been very strong off the tee of late and will be well-equipped to handle the length of the South Course.
26. Joaquin Niemann
Niemann made the cut in his Farmers Insurance Open debut last year. He’s a quality ball-striker who can get hot with the putter to compensate for a lack of distance off the tee.
25. Jason Kokrak
The 65th-ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking tied for 20th here last year. He’s coming off of a rare missed cut after failing to make the weekend just twice last season.
24. Lucas Glover
Not known as a particularly long hitter, Glover is able to position himself well off the tee and it will help give him good approach angles to the greens. He’s also a strong sand player and will be able to survive the 54 bunkers scattered throughout the course.
23. Phil Mickelson
Mickelson missed the cut as the host of last week’s American Express. He has 70 career rounds played on Torrey Pines’ South Course and is among the most experienced in the field at the venue. He can still score on the long holes.
22. Bubba Watson
The 2011 champion hasn’t played here in the last five years. His length off the tee gives him an edge over most of the field, as he remains in search of his 2018 form which saw him win three times on Tour.
21. Byeong Hun An
An made his 2020 debut with a missed cut last week after going T-6, T-8 and T-14 over the Tour’s three-event swing through Asia to conclude the 2019 calendar year. He’s great tee-to-green and on approach, but putting remains an issue.
20. Ryan Palmer
Palmer’s a favorite of the key stats for Torrey Pines. He’s a great ball-striker with a strong tee-to-green game. He followed up a co-runner-up finish in 2018 with a T-13 last year.
19. Brandt Snedeker
The 2016 winner of this event has made the cut each of the three preceding years. He lacks the distance of the long hitters and top contenders, but if the California weather turns south, it plays to his advantage.
18. Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler will be put to the test in the strongest field in which he’s played against since the 2019 US Open. He finished third last week, but the strength of the field has risen considerably.
17. Sungjae Im
Im collected another top-10 result last week for his third of the PGA Tour season. Like Scheffler (and the entire field) he faces much stiffer competition this week, but he regularly works his way into contention.
16. Billy Horschel
Horschel has two 8th-place finishes here in his last four appearances. He’s not in good form right now, but the familiar venue can get him back on track.
15. Collin Morikawa
Morikawa has steadily risen up the OWGR since turning pro last year, as he’s yet to miss a cut. He’s a safe pick to play a full 72 holes each week.
14. Cameron Smith
Smith took last week off after winning the Sony Open in Hawaii. He tied for ninth here last year after making the cut in his third straight trip to Torrey Pines.
13. Tony Finau
Finau has been a regular contender here with four straight top-20 finishes, including two top 10s. He tied for 14th last week and can make up strokes on the longer holes.
12. Patrick Reed
Ranked 12th in the world entering this week, Reed missed the cut last week but returns to a venue where he tied for 13th last year.
11. Jason Day
Already a two-time winner over his last four appearances at Torrey Pines, Day picked up a T-5 in 2019. He’s the top sand player in the field. The only concern is his return from an injury which forced him to withdraw from the Presidents Cup.
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10. Rickie Fowler
Fowler had a stretch of three straight missed cuts here from 2016-18 before tying for 66th last year. He tied for 10th last week and will be preparing to defend his 2019 win at the Waste Management Open next week.
9. Francesco Molinari
Molinari makes his return to Torrey Pines after skipping last year’s event. He’s coming off a missed cut last week, but he positions himself well off the tee and gains his strokes tee to green at longer venues.
8. Marc Leishman
Leish has made the cut four of the last five years with a top finish of T-8 in 2018. He enters the week ranked 28th in the world and typically steps up in stronger fields.
7. Gary Woodland
The 2019 US Open champ will be taking an advanced look at the 2021 US Open venue. It’s considerably longer than Pebble Beach Golf Links, at which he won last year’s third major, but he has a strong history here, including a T-9 in 2019.
6. Xander Schauffele
Schauffele bucked a trend of three consecutively missed cuts here to finish T-25 last year. He can struggle off the tee at times, but he can score low if the conditions allow.
5. Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama tied for third a year ago. His strengths are positioning off the tee and his play from tee to green.
4. Jon Rahm
The 2017 champion finished just T-29 in 2018 before rebounding with a T-5 last year. He has three worldwide wins since July.
3. Justin Rose
The defending champ and former world No. 1 is coming off a runner-up finish at the Asian Tour’s SMBC Singapore Open.
2. Tiger Woods
As noted above, there’s plenty on the line for Tiger this week at one of his favorite courses. He’s three months away from his defense of the Masters, but his hand-picked schedule before then includes only tournaments he plans on winning.
1. Rory McIlroy
The reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year is having his 2020 debut overshadowed by Tiger’s hunt for history. He hasn’t played this even often, but he tied for fifth a year ago.
Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.
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