The California Swing with the Farmers Insurance Open, an annual PGA Tour stop since the 1950s. Players will attempt to navigate the narrow fairways, thick rough and small Poa greens of Torrey Pines, one of the premier municipal golf courses in America and also the host of two U.S. Open championships. Many of the PGA Tour’s best will rotate Thursday and Friday on the North and South courses, and those who make the cut will play both weekend rounds at the South course, the far more challenging of the two. Torrey Pines South annually ranks as one of the three longest courses on the schedule, and it is one of the most exaggerated driving and long iron tests that players will face all year.
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false Public Torrey Pines Golf Course: South La Jolla, CA 3.9 23 Panelists
- 100 Greatest Public
- Best In State
Torrey Pines sits on one of the prettiest golf course sites in America, atop coastal bluffs north of San Diego with eye-dazzling views of the Pacific. Rees Jones’ remodeling of the South Course in the early 2000s not only made the course competitive for the 2008 U.S. Open (won by Tiger Woods in a playoff over Rocco Mediate), it also brought several coastal canyons into play for everyday play, especially on the par-3 third and par-4 14th. An annual PGA Tour stop, Torrey Pines received another boost by Jones prior to hosting its second U.S. Open in 2021, this one won by Jon Rahm. Explore our full review
While the absence of San Diego native Xander Schauffele will be felt this week, Ludvig Aberg, Hideki Matsuyama, Sahith Theegala, Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris, Sungjae Im and former Farmers Insurance Open champions Jason Day and Max Homa headline a strong field this week. With a lot of Torrey Pines to look forward to in the next couple of weeks, let’s dive into the DraftKings slate.
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$9,000 and above range Play: Ludvig Aberg, $10,800
Ever since Ludvig Aberg burst onto the scene, I have felt that he would be a future Torrey Pines champion in the same vein as other powerful drivers such as Jon Rahm and Jason Day before him. Aberg did not disappoint with a ninth-place at this event last year on debut, and I’m expecting even better in his follow-up.
Fade: Max Greyserman, $9,700 
Maddie Meyer
Now priced as one of the tournament favorites, this is the time to sell Max Greyserman. Despite a top-five finish last week, Greyserman now travels to a far longer and difficult golf course that will play an undue amount of pressure on his long irons. Until the Duke grad builds a resume on some of these more challenging courses, I’ll be looking in another direction.
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$8,000 range Play: Taylor Pendrith, $8,800 
Orlando Ramirez
Torrey Pines is an ideal golf course for Taylor Pendrith’s skill-set, and his power off the tee and elite putting from five to 15 feet should pay dividends here. It should not come as a surprise that Pendrith finished ninth at this event last year, and I’m expecting another strong performance out of the Canadian in San Diego.
Fade: Harry Hall, $8,000
Harry Hall has had a strong opening start to the season, but Torrey Pines is a much different test than the easier courses where the Englishman has been succeeding. Hall has missed the cut in all three appearances at Torrey Pines, and I worry his off-the-tee play will be a significant liability at one of the more challenging driving courses on the PGA Tour.
Kate McShane
Thomas Detry fits the prototypical skill-set I am looking for this week. He hits the ball a mile off the tee, possesses distinct upside with his long irons and is a great putter from five to 15 feet. Detry presents an excellent leverage opportunity in this range from many of the more popular options.
Fade: Austin Eckroat, $7,700
I’m not sold on Austin Eckroat’s course fit at Torrey Pines, and I worry that his short game could get him into trouble this week. Eckroat is one of the worst around-the-green players on the PGA Tour, and with firmer conditions this year, I would expect Torrey Pines to feature one of the lower greens in regulation percentage on tour, placing an undue amount of pressure on Eckroat’s approach play, which has not been anything to write home about of late.
Flier: Gary Woodland, $7,200 
Sarah Stier
Gary Woodland always has my attention on long and difficult golf courses, and he’s coming off a 16th place finish at the Sony Open where he gained strokes in all four major categories. It appears his game is trending in the right direction. Woodland’s experience on Poa greens, power off the tee, and top-tier long ability makes him one of my favorite values on the slate.
$6,000 range Play: Joseph Bramlett, $6,900 
Scott Taetsch
Similar to Woodland, Joseph Bramlett is always a player worth a shout on long and difficult golf courses. Given his power off the tee and long iron play, it should not come as a surprise that he has recorded top-25 finishes in three of his past four appearances. Bramlett will be extra motivated this week to take advantage of his limited playing opportunities on the PGA Tour and should be chomping at the bit for the chance to return to Torrey Pines.
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Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
