12 Jun 2019
The PGA Tour continues this week at one of golf’s most iconic courses, Torrey Pines, where some of the top ranked players will compete in the Farmers Insurance Open.
The tournament always attracts a strong field, but this year’s line-up is particularly competitive, including the likes of defending champion Jason Day, world number one Justin Rose and for the first time this season Tiger Woods.
It’s a notoriously difficult course to score well on, with only one of the last six champions finishing better than 10-under - the course will suit the Tour’s bigger hitters.
However, Torrey Pines is situated on the coast line and has been known to attract strong coastal winds. While conditions look good for this year’s tournament, accuracy off the tee is crucial.
With that in mind, we’ve rounded up four players who we believe will be in with a shout of winning in San Diego this week.
Marc Leishman
The Australian is in exceptional form, with four top-five finishes in his last five tournaments. Leishman is rightly considered one of the favourites at 18/1 to win. He has already had a third and fourth place finish this season, scoring an average of 19-under. He has developed a reputation for playing coastal conditions very well which has previously played into his hands, twice finishing runner-up and last year he was tied for eighth.
Xander Schauffele
Of the previous 30 winners at Torrey Pines 15 have been Californian. Arguably the form player on tour, Xander Schauffele, could make it 16 wins from the last 31. The world number six has had a dream start to the 2019 season, already winning the Tournament of Champions and the HSBC World Golf Championship. His strong start to the season means the American could be the pick of the favourites, coming into this week’s event at 16/1 to win.
Tony Finau
The world number ten has only finished outside the top-20 twice since August 2018 on the tour. The Farmers Insurance Open will be his first of the 2019 season and it’s a course that suits his game. The Utah native finished last year as the Tour’s longest driver with an average of 320.6 yards. Additionally, the consistent Finau has previously enjoyed playing at Torrey Pines, his sixth place finish has meant his last four tournaments have seen him average a 13th place finish - making Finau an attractive choice for the win at 12/1.
JB Holmes
The American has struggled in recent years which has seen the four-time PGA Tour winner slip to 97th in the world rankings. However, the Kentucky man has three top-25 finishes this season and has form at Torrey Pines, averaging a 14th place finish in his last five starts - including a fourth-place finish last year. His course form suggests that Holmes looks good value each way at 66/1.
Brandt Snedeker
Brandt Snedeker is far from a front runner to win in San Diego, but his course form is hard to ignore. The 38-year-old has finished inside the top ten six times in his last nine outings at Torrey Pines, including two wins back in 2012 and 2016. Putting an injury ridden 2018 season behind him, Snedeker has started the 2019 season in relatively good form, finishing tied 16th in the Sony Open two weeks back. A strong record at Torrey Pines means the American veteran could be worth taking a chance on to win at 40-1.
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