Farmers Insurance Open 2024: Odds, Field, and Best Bets

FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN 2023: ODDS, FIELD, AND BEST BETS – The PGA Tour remains on the West Coast swing as it heads down to San Diego and Torrey Pines Golf Course.

Tee times for this event start on Wednesday morning as the Tour tries to steer clear of the NFL. Like last week, there will be multiple courses to evaluate. Everyone in the field will play both the North and South Course during the first two rounds. After a 36-hole cut, the players will play the final two rounds on the South Course.

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The course they’ll play three times is also the toughest. the South Course has hosted two US Opens and it is no joke. It’s pretty much the longest course on schedule when you factor in the yardage and marine layer that can limit carry and roll. Flat out, a player needs to really move the golf ball to have a chance here.

The North Course is only notable because it provides the one good scoring opportunity of the week. Winners of this tournament almost certainly have to shoot 68 here to have a chance.

It’s a loaded field with many of the California guys like Cantlay and Xander in the field. Collin Morikawa and Max Homa are also in action this week. Here are three picks I’m rolling with this week.

Favorites

Sahith Theegala (+3500)

This price may not look like a very solid favorite, but after three triple-digit winners cashing tickets to start the season, I’m having a hard time talking myself into much below 30/1 right now in these fields. Sahith is a SoCal guy and the Pepperdine roots just up the coast will almost certainly be a storyline. 

He’s played here twice, finishing T4 and T25, so it’s clear there is comfort at Torrey Pines.

His best work comes when he can use his distance off the tee and creativity in his approach and short game. Distance is a necessity on the South Course, and there’s no shortage of trickiness around there either. Theegala is rapidly moving towards being in golf’s elite. This price probably won’t last forever in these tournaments.  

Midtier

Beau Hossler (+6000)

The Beau Show has really been improving his game over the last year or so. He used to be just sort of good enough to allow his wedges and putter to keep him competitive. Lately he’s looked different. He’s been gaining strokes off the tee in almost every event for several months and the iron play has been looking more dialed-in as well.

I mentioned him and Taylor Montgomery in this section last week and I don’t hate Montgomery this week either if you have room for a player in this tier. He’ll be on my card just because I’m a sucker for how well he rolls the rock. Short game is always going to be important at Torrey Pines.

Longshot

Chan Kim (+30000)

If you’ve listened to the podcast, you know that we’ve been watching Chan’s career closer than anyone except his family since about 2021. We talked about him every week last season, even as he was muddling through the early portion of the KFT schedule. Then he caught fire.

He’s now a 33 year old rookie with big experience vibes, just like Eric Cole did last season when he burst onto the scene. Chan is an excellent ballstriker and really long. Both of those things will serve him very well this week.

He actually gained strokes off the tee and approach when he played the US Open here in 2021, but the putter let him down. He putted really well last week once the Tour got to California last week, so maybe everything can line up here.

He’s a sneaky pick this week, but it’s not a fluke that he’s here now. He’s played in a dozen majors and has already had a career on the Japan Tour. He’s definitely got the chops and experience to take down a tournament like this.