PGA Betting – Farmers Insurance Preview & Pick
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The 2013 Farmer’s Insurance Open is on tap for this weekend and as per usual, a very strong field is expected to tee it up Torrey Pines in San Diego, one of the longest courses on TOUR and the scene of US Open action in the past. Obviously length is a must on this course – bombers will have an edge.
2013 Farmers Insurance Open
Location: La Jolla, California, United States
Course: Torrey Pines Golf Course (North and South)
Date: Jan 24-27, 2013
Total Purse: US $ 6,100,000
Winner’s Share: US $ 1,080,000 (18% of total purse)
Defending Champion: Brandt Snedeker ($1,080,000)
Fairways are difficult to find, strong long iron play is a must and scrambling ability is essential this week. The weather is threatening to be a factor as well. Tiger Woods will be there, Phil Mickelson will attend and a host of other huge names on the PGA TOUR will be looking to collect a nice check early in the 2013 season.
Let’s break it all down!
The Favorites:
Tiger Woods 6/1
Woods makes his first start of the season in North America after missing the cut last week Abu Dhabi. Torrey Pines just happens to be a place that Woods is very comfortable however – he has won here six times, he did win a major on this course and he did have nine top 10s in 19 starts on TOUR last year. Woods struggled last week with his long irons but putted well. Translation – his all around game isn’t quite where it needs to be just yet.
Brandt Snedeker 14/1
Is the defending Champ in that dramatic come-from-behind win in this event and the defending FedEx Cup Champ as well. He led the field in all around last year – no wonder he won. He does have four top 10s here in six appearances with an average score of 69.95 per round. Sneds has played twice this year – a third in the Hyundai and a 23rd in the Humana. Translation – Snedeker may be due!
Dustin Johnson 14/1
Has two top-20s with a T3 (2011) in five starts at Torrey Pines and he does have a win on TOUR already at the Hyundai. He is as big a hitter as there is on TOUR which should help him here and he is one of the players I am predicting to have a very, very big year. Translation – Dustin should be in the mix Sunday. Paulina Gretzky is about the only one that can slow him down.
The Contenders:
Phil Mickelson 16/1
Home town boy Phil Mickelson could have been in contention last week in his first start of 2013 if not for a bad opening round. Phil is always a factor here – he has won three times and he has 10 top 10s in 23 appearances – including a runner-up performance in 2011. Phil loves the West Coast swing and should be in the conversation Sunday.
Bubba Watson 18/1
Won this event in 2011 and finished a respectable T13 last year. He has made six of seven cuts here with three top 10s and four top 25s, logging eight straight under par rounds at Torrey Pines. Hasn’t played since a T4 at Kapalua, his 21st top 20 in his last 26 starts.
Nick Watney 20/1
Hasn’t played since looking just OK at Kapalua but he does have five straight top 20s on TOUR. Watney won this event in 2009, has four top 20s here in eight starts but is a tad hard to trust until we see him more.
Charles Howell III 25/1
Howell III is the hottest golfer on TOUR heading into this weekend – he has a T3 and T2 in a playoff at the Sony Open and Humana Challenge, respectively and leads the TOUR in scoring with an average of 68.068. He ranks fifth in all-time earnings at Torrey Pines, highest among non-winners. He’s 10-for-10 with six top-15s, including a pair of runner-up finishes. It has been six years since his last win but he is a decent bet to break that slump this week. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Hunter Mahan 25/1
Mahan has two straight T6s at this event and he has the length and the accuracy to contend here. He opened the season with a T26 at Kapalua and will be looking to get on the President’s Cup radar with a solid start here.
Keegan Bradley 25/1
Has played this event twice with a T22 and a T25 to show for it. Led the field in total driving en route to last year’s T22, but ranked T45 in greens hit and 34th in strokes gained-putting. He has played once this year – a nice T4 at Kapalua but is in very tough this week against competition who has feasted on Torrey Pines.
Scott Piercy 35/1
Had a couple of top 25s in Hawaii and has two straight top 20s at Torrey Pines. Just accept that Piercy will be sniffing around the leaderboard all season – just don’t know about winning this week!
Bill Haas 45/1
Haas loves this track – five top 20s in eight appearances here including a T4 last year. Haas has been cold recently but his track record at Torrey Pines means that we have to mention him!
The Sleepers:
John Rollins 66/1
Started 2013 in fine form – two top 20s in two events played including a T16 last week. He has been good and he has been bad at Torrey Pines – five missed cuts and three top 4s and four top 10s in 12 starts. He has looked solid this year so you would have to think the good John Rollins shows up at Torrey Pines this week.
Scott Stallings 80/1
Melted down at the end of the Humana but he did finish T4 and he does have four top 15s in his last five starts. He now has eight top-25s in his last 12 starts but he did miss the cut here in his only appearance in 2010.
Stewart Cink 100/1
He’s 9-for-10 at Torrey Pines with five top 15s and he did look good last week. His tie for 13th last year was his best finish anywhere all season.
The Pick:
My pick this week is Charles Howell III at 25/1 – good value for the best player on TOUR right now and one that has a terrific history at Torrey Pines.
My sleeper is John Rollins at 66/1– he is playing well and he certainly knows the good and the bad of Torrey Pines.
