Farmers Insurance Open 2021 | PGA Tour
The 2021 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines has arrived though sadly sans Tiger Woods but the US Open prep has begun and with it comes a rather feisty field. Let’s get you set to see some green screens on DraftKings this weekend.Â
What's up golf addicts! AC here, checking in week to week to provide a quick recap of the latest Tour Junkies podcast. I won't cover all of the picks and insight (you need to listen to the show) but I'll give you a few.
The TJ fam was all over Si Woo Kim last week and boy did he deliver. The boys talked him up on the pod, DB hit em on the Big Balls Betting Card and I wrote him up as a top $8k play right here. Hopefully your screens reflected those winnings. If they didn’t, what are you even doing?
Marc Leishman and a gaggle of Aussies have flocked to La Jolla, California in hopes of keeping the title down under. Leishman won the event in 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic flipped the world upside down and some of the world’s best have shown up this week to get a feel for the course before returning in July when Torrey Pines hosts the 2021 US Open.
After a WD last week, world #2, John Rahm, is back in the mix and is joined by Rory McIlroy, Xander Schaufelee, Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, Sungjae Im, and PGA Tour studs, Brooks Koepka and Harris English. Calm down, ladies. The field has been capped at 156 with the top 65 and ties making the cut.
Torrey Pines Course(s) Preview
Once again we have two courses in rotation this week with distinct differences. North and South. The North course will be played once per player during the first two rounds with three of the four rounds being played at the South course. Both courses play as par 72s but have much different lengths. The North course plays around 7,200 yards and features bentgrass greens with the South playing almost 500 yards longer at 7,700 and has poana greens.
With any coastal course the weather is going to play a big factor and at this point Thursday and Friday will need to be monitored. I have a lean right now at playing an AM/PM stack with guys on the South Course Thursday and having the bentgrass North course during the PM wave on Friday. For Showdown and first round leader bets, AM stack teeing off on the North Course Thursday and then the PM wave on the North course Friday.
With the history of events at Torrey Pines it is easy to find the stats that correlate best to Draftkings scoring. Last year Leishman hit the least amount of fairways but showed a hot putter is all you need. Most of his drives were so bad they ended up laying nice and fluffy on a bunch of trampled down thick rough. That won’t be the case this year with no fans so the guys better hit some fairways this week.
With the course being so long, driving distance is important but accuracy off the tee is even more so. SG: OTT will give you a good look at the best of both worlds. Ball-striking and approach, like every week, are two key stats and a healthy dose of tee to green will combine everything nicely. My model also has a decent percentage of fairways gained and greens in regulation. Getting more specific, take a look at 450-500 yard par 4 scoring and long par 5s between 550-600 yards.
The Picks & Fades
Each week we will give you a play and a fade from each DraftKings salary range.Â
$9k+:Â
DB: Play - Hideki Matsuyama | Fade - Scottie Scheffler
Pat: Play - Tony Finau | Fade - Xander SchaufeleeÂ
AC: Play - Viktor Hovland, Harris English, Sungjae Im | Fade - Patrick Reed
$8k:
DB: Play - Si Woo Kim | Fade - Billy Horschel
Pat: Play - Adam Scott | Fade - Billy Horschel
AC: Play - Bubba Watson, Will Zalatoris | Fade - Jason Day
$7k:
DB: Play - Cam Davis, Jason Kokrak, Charles Howell III | Fade - Corey Conners
Pat: Play - Gary Woodland, Carlos Ortiz, Sam Burns | Fade - Francesco Molinari
AC: Play - James Hahn, Talor Gooch, Sam Burns | Fade - Jordan Spieth
$6k:Â
DB: Play - Luke List, Harry Higgs, Patrick Rodgers
Pat: Play - Martin Laird, Wyndham Clark, Will Gordon
AC: Play - Luke List, Tom Hoge, Will Gordon
OUT: Kamaiu Johnson (COVID-19), Mark Hubbard, Keegan Bradley, Austin Cook, Branden Grace, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, CT Pan, Luke Donald
IN: Willie Mack III (sponsor), Jim Knous, Aaron Baddeley, Matt Every, Rafael Campos, Michael Gellerman, John Senden, Nick Watney, Brandon Hagy, Tim Wilkinson, Steve Stricker
Monday Qs:Â
69 (-3)
Andres Gonzales (5 birdies, 2 bogeys)
Tain Lee (6 birdies, 1 bogey, 1 double)
70 (-2; via 5-way playoff)
Jared du Toit (4 birdies, 2 bogeys)
Cameron Young (5 birdies, 3 bogeys)
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