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DraftKings PGA: 2019 Farmers Insurance Open Picks and Analysis

By Benjamin Main

SAN DIEGO, CA - JANUARY 27: Tiger Woods looks on on the first tee during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 27, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - JANUARY 27: Tiger Woods looks on on the first tee during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 27, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /
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SAN DIEGO, CA – JANUARY 27: Tiger Woods looks on on the first tee during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 27, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) DraftKings PGA
SAN DIEGO, CA – JANUARY 27: Tiger Woods looks on on the first tee during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 27, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) DraftKings PGA /

DraftKings PGA: 2019 Farmers Insurance Open Picks and Analysis

I was a lot more into the Desert Open than I expected to be. Maybe that is because I had some really live DraftKings PGA  lineups on Sunday (I was on the entire leader-board if you read last week’s article), maybe its because it was a snowstorm outside and I was wishing I was in La Quinta. Either way, the weather was inviting and the scoring was low.  Phil held the lead from wire-to-wire in route to victory. There were plenty of golfers surging on Sunday, but Phil was too much, shooting a 26-under for the tournament.

The Tour will stay in California this week, traveling to La Jolla and Torrey Pines. Oh yeah, Tiger’s Back! Golfers will tee-it-up one round on the North Course and three rounds on the South Course at Torrey Pines. The North Course is the course you need to take advantage of. Renovated in 2016, the par-72 North Course will play 7,258 yards. The course played slightly more difficult in 2017 and 2018 than pre-renovation, and rumor has it that the Bentgrass greens will be faster this year. The South Course is the same-old, playing as one of the longest tracts on the PGA tour at 7,698 yards. The course will play even longer if it remains soft in La Jolla. We are staying on Bermudagrass again this week, and the greens at South will be oversewn with Poa.

The 2018 edition of the Farmers Insurance Open saw Jason Day hold off Alex Noren and Ryan Palmer in a playoff. Day finished at 10-under, but the interesting thing is that Palmer had the lead at -11 on Friday and Noren had the lead at -11 on Saturday. Rahm won the 2017 edition at 13-under for the tournament.

Torrey Pines generally favors bombers who can avoid big numbers. We have seen the Web.com golfers pop these last few weeks. That is not going to happen this week. This course is difficult. The winner is likely going to be in the high single digits. I will be focusing on golfers who played in Hawaii or California and have experience on this course. I will be fading the golfers traveling from the European Tour at Abu Dhabi.

Key Stats

Approach Gained

Bogey avoidance Gained

Off-The-Tee Gained

Tee-To-Green Gained

LA JOLLA, CA – JANUARY 25: Marc Leishman hits his tee shot on the 17th hole during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open on Torrey Pines South in La Jolla, California on January 25, 2014 in La Jolla, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
LA JOLLA, CA – JANUARY 25: Marc Leishman hits his tee shot on the 17th hole during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open on Torrey Pines South in La Jolla, California on January 25, 2014 in La Jolla, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

DraftKings PGA – Farmers Insurance Open Picks

9,700 Marc Leishman

Leishman is one of the hottest golfers on the PGA Tour! He is a decent looking guy, but I am referring to his play. Leishman has 4 top 5’s so far in the 2018/19 season with a win at the CIMB Classic. Leishman’s only non-top 5 finish was an 18th at the CJ Cup. Leishman has a tremendous course record here and will be chalky, but I cannot fade him. The Aussie’s love kikuyu grass, and it has been evident by his course history. Leishman has finished T8, T20, MC, T27, and T2 in his last five at Torrey Pines. Leishman is striking it well, 14th on approach and 18th tee-to-green in 2019, and I love his chances at winning this weekend.

9,200 Patrick Cantlay

Cantlay shook off the rust in La Quinta last week and now he gets to play a course that should really fit his game. Cantlay grew up a few hours from this course golf, he mashes the ball off the tee, gains a bunch of strokes on approach, and has been low-key been playing really good golf. Cantlay had a chance to make a move Sunday and we just didn’t see it, so I am hoping that sours some DFSers. We will let them look past the fact that he has top-10 finishes in his last 4 events. Cantlay has only played this tournament once, finishing 51st in 2018.

9,000 Gary Woodland

Woodland is on a tear. He had a strong finish to the 2018 PGA season, and has 5/7 in top-10 finishes for the 2018/19 season. Woodland is an excellent ball-striker, ranking top 25 in the field off-the-tee and on approach. His track record at Torrey Pines is studly, finishing T12, T20, T18 and T45, and T10 since 2014. Woodland’s only hiccup was an MDF at the Sony Open. I am hoping that dissuades DFSers from rostering him, because he is a course horse (at an extremely difficult tract, mind you) and his game is firing on all cylinders.

DFS Golf
SAN DIEGO, CA – JANUARY 26: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan takes a practice swing on the eighth hole during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 26, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

DraftKings PGA – Farmers Insurance Open Values

8,000 Hideki Matsuyama

Hideki’s 2018 campaign was marred by a lingering wrist injury. He got that wrist injury at this very event. We are getting 2018 pricing, and its imperative that we take advantage of that before his price begins to climb. Matsuyama is one of the best golfers in the world, and I love how he sets up for Torrey Pines. His driver is a weapon, which helps at South, but what makes Hideki perfect for this course is his long iron play. All four par-3’s are over 200 yards, and most of the par-4’s are >450 yards. That sets up for a lot of long irons. If he can figure out the putter, then hopefully he can top his 2018 T12 at Torrey Pines.

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7,500 Kyle Stanley

When I was researching this course, it just screamed Kyle Stanley to me. Then I looked up his past results and I was impressed. T51, T14, T25 and T67 since 2014. Nothing eye-popping, but at a course that humbles the best in the world, 4 straight made-cuts is impressive. From the &K range you could do a lot worse than a solid cut-maker like Stanley. This kid is no stranger to making cuts. He keeps the ball in the fairway, dials in on approach, and does not bleed strokes on the green. I am convinced Stanley is going to win an event this year, and I see no reason it cannot be this one.

6,600 Cameron Davis

Davis is just a dart throw. First, he is an Aussie and fits into my Leishman/Cam Smith lineups perfectly. Second, I like what the stats are telling me. He mashes it off-the-tee (11th in PGA in DD in 2019) and is solid on approach, ranking in the top 50 in the field OTT and SGA. Third, Davis played this event last year and finished 58th. An 80 on Sunday derailed what had been an excellent tournament for Davis. Another plus, Davis played well at the Desert Classic, finishing 28th.

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Check out more PGA and NFL articles by the author and make sure to follow @Mystery_Main for up-to-date injuries, withdrawals, and ownership projections up until the tournament. Also, follow @FantasyCPR for your daily fantasy fix.