FanDuel PGA: 2019 Farmers Insurance Open Picks

Welcome to this edition of FanDuel PGA Picks from FantasyCPR.com. Here you will find players to target for this weekend’s Farmers Insurance Open, taking place at Torrey Pines GC in beautiful San Diego, California.

In this article, I will present to you some players to consider from each price tier for FanDuel PGA. Some plays will be geared toward cash games, and some for GPP tournaments. Some of course will also technically qualify as both. As we break each play down, I will be sure to specify which type of contests I am targeting that player in.

I will give two players to target from the $11K-$12K, two targets from the $10K-$11K range, and two from the $9-10K range. After that will come my top value plays from the $8-9K range, along with a couple of GPP flyers below $8K. Last but certainly not least, I will end the article the ever popular sample lineup we like to do here at FantasyCPR.

FanDuel PGA: The 2019 Desert Classic Recap:

It was another solid week for the picks here, and that makes it three in a row to start the 2019 campaign. If you were unaware, these sample lineups are always what I use for cash games on a weekly basis for PGA contests. Even though they are just recommendations, I am 100% giving you the best lineup I can every week, hoping you find some green if you decide to throw a buck or two on it.

Last week’s sample scored 628.4 FDP, was top 20 in all of my 100 man 50/50’s, and was also able to find green in GPP play. This score was good for 637th place out of 7142 in the flop shot GPP. which was a 2.5x return. Everyone made the cut, and the worst score was the 10-under from Hudson Swafford. If you can find two gems in that $8,200 and below range like Swafford and Harris English turned out to be, you will usually be in good shape.

I got two more this week as it is 100% another Harris English week, and there was a clear stand out at $7,900 we will get to in the value plays. Before we get to this weeks picks, here was last weeks sample lineup in case you missed it.

G – Jon Rahm – $11,900 – (125.8)
G – Patrick Cantlay – $11,300 – (123.5)
G – Chez Reavie – $9,800 – (97.9)
G – Hudson Swafford – $8,200 – (89.9)
G – Harris English – $7,500 – (88.1)
G – Charles Howell – $11,100 – (103.2)

                                                               (628.4)

***Click the bar below to proceed to this weeks PGA 2019 Farmers Insurance Open FanDuel Picks!***

FanDuel PGA: Top Tier Picks: ($11,000 – $12,000)

Tiger Woods – $11,500 – (GPP)

With the 2019 season kicking off for Tiger at a course he has dominated over the years, and the fact that he looked fantastic to end 2018, my only question is how much Tiger is too much Tiger? I still have a slight doubt even though he looks healthy and says he feels good, but on the same token, would not be one bit surprised if he pulled off his eighth career Farmers Insurance victory. Woods also won the 2008 U.S. Open here at Torrey Pines, giving him eight career victories at Torrey Pines.

Woods’ last win here came in 2013, when his 14-under was good for a four stroke victory over Brandt Snedeker and Josh Teater. Prior to that, he won this event four times in a row from 2005 to 2008, for wins 3-6 here.

There really isn’t a better week to roster Woods all year when it comes to courses. With a deep field and his price being up where most may not feel comfortable, he becomes one of my favorite GPP plays of the year up to this point in the early goings.

Jason Day – $11,300 – (Cash/GPP)

This was the hardest week to make the old cash lineup so far in 2019. I always like to have that thing set before I start writing this, so I can work around it as much as possible. For whatever it’s worth, Day was the final selection to my cash squad, as I was trying to decide between Charles Howell, or Tony Finau, while almost completely missing Day.

I started my cash lineup with Jon Rahm and my two favorite value plays, and wasn’t even considering fitting Day in with him as I just didn’t think it would be possible. I spent about an hour agonizing over Sneds, Howell, Finau and Marc Leishman, then finally realized that a pick I had reserved for GPP makes a ton of sense for cash games with Day.

His form could be a little better since his 5th place at the CJ Cup, but he has consistently finished just outside the top-10, and just inside the top-20 in all three events he has played since. The defending Farmers Open champion and two-time winner here at Torrey Pines, Day is another one of my favorite plays this week.

***Also Consider: Jon Rahm $11,900 – Charles Howell $11,000***

FanDuel PGA: Mid Tier Picks: ($10,000 – $11,000)

Brandt Snedeker – $10,300 – (Cash)

Another horse for the course, the 2012 and 2016 Farmers Insurance Open champion Snedeker comes into Torrey Pines in pretty solid form. Much like Leishman last week, there is usually one cash play that really sticks out every week considering price, and I think Sneds is too cheap here.

Snedeker has competed seven times this season, and is perfect making cuts. His best finish was a T-2 back in early October at the Safeway Open, but he is coming off of a T-16th at the Sony Open two weeks ago, in which he finished 12-under.

Not only has Sneds won twice here, he has also finished T-2 here twice as well in 2010 and 2013. This is a guy I haven’t targeted in a while so I am a bit nervous about it, but he seems to be over his struggles from last season for now.

Alexander Noren – $10,500 – (GPP)

Primarily a European Tour player, the 36-year-old Swede is back at Torrey Pines looking to avenge last years playoff loss to Jason Day. Along with Ryan Palmer, the trio finished 10-under to force a 3-man playoff, in which Day came out victorious for his second win here at Torrey Pines.

Noren last teed it up at the Hero World Challenge, where he finished T-8. He has quietly been on a pretty solid run as of late, notching five straight top-25 among multiple tours. He should be a sneaky GPP play this week so many good plays around him, and he is shaping up to be my favorite pivot from a likely chalky Marc Leishman in tournament play. I won’t be going to heavy on him, but he will certainly be in my player pool.

***Also Consider: Marc Leishman $10,800 – Tony Finau $10,700***

FanDuel PGA: Low Tier Picks: ($9,000 – $10,000)

Joaquin Niemann – $9,500 – (GPP)

So as the field got a little deeper this week, Niemann got quite a healthy price decrease to go along with it. He struggled at the Desert Classic last week, but the 20-year-old should easily bounce back this week at a Torrey Pines course he is quite familiar with. Niemann won the Junior World Championships here TWICE in 2015 and 2016, which is an incredible feat.

I am not quite sure what the missed cut last week will do to his ownership this week, but my gut says he will still be a chalky play. Even though I feel he will compete this week, for $500 less there is a much better cash play in my opinion.

Sungjae Im – $9,000 – (Cash)

I saw some Im in cash games last week, and I have to say that was pretty risky, but it certainly paid off for those who took the chance. I know I write him up somewhere every week in some PGA article I do, but he is now cash safe in my opinion, as he creeps closer to a top-10 every week.

Sungjae has had some solid rounds the last couple events, bringing his FDP totals up over 100 for back-to-back weeks. He comes in to Torrey Pines finally looking like chalk, as he followed up his T-16 at the Sony Open with a T-12 last week at the Desert Classic. I personally still will not be playing him in cash quite yet, because it just wasn’t necessary for my builds. I have way too much confidence in two golfers under $8K this week, so let’s keep moving along and find out who they are.

***Also Consider: JJ Spaun $9,200 – Emiliano Grillo $9,500***

FanDuel PGA: Top Value Picks: ($9,000 or Less)

Rory Sabbatini – $7,900 – (Cash)

By no means is Sabbatini going to compete to win this thing, but he comes into the Farmers Insurance Open with decent history in this event, and also in pretty good form for a savvy veteran. He has made three straight cuts going back to the Mayakoba Classic, and he entered the final round at the Desert Classic in contention somewhat last week at 12-under, but he faultered down the stretch, shooting +1, and finishing T-57th.

It would be a bonus if Sabbatini can crack the top-25 this week, and his past history here suggests he easily could, considering he has done so three times since 2014. He tied for 14th in 2017, and followed that up with a T-20 last year. He is playing well and making cuts, and for less than $8K, you can’t ask for a better recipe for cash games.

Harris English – $7,800 – (Cash)

I kind of snuck English down in the others to consider last week, as I wrote him up down there in the flyers, and played him in the sample lineup. It was enough for someone to ask me on Twitter what my thought process was on him which is cool. I welcome that interaction, and will always explain why I may be on a certain player.

Anyways, English is a consistent cut-maker as of late, who traditionally plays well in January, and like Sabbatini, has had some success here at Torrey Pines in recent history. His best finish came in 2015 when he T-2, and he followed that up with top-15 finishes in 2017 and 2018, including a top-10 last year with a T-8 finish. Don’t look now, but English is 7-for-7 making cuts to start the season, and has golfed 12 straight rounds under par. Pairing him and Sabbatini opens up plenty of options at the top, so without further ado, click one more slide to see this week’s sample lineup, as I try to go 4-for-4 to start 2019.

***Bonus GPP Flyers – Dylan Frittelli $8,200 – Adam Svensson $7,100***

FanDuel PGA: 2019 Desert Classic – Sample Lineup

The line-up below is meant to be illustrative only to further back-up the logic laid out in previous slides. It is not an optimal line-up. It is in fact, just a “Sample Lineup.” 

G – Jon Rahm – $11,900
G – Jason Day – $11,300
G – Marc Leishman – $10,800
G – Brandt Snedeker – $10,300
G – Harris English – $7,800
G – Rory Sabbatini – $7,900

That is all for this weeks FanDuel PGA Targets for the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open. If you have any questions, give me a follow on Twitter with the link at the top of the article. You can also leave a question right here in the comments, and I will do my best to respond before lock Thursday morning. Thank you for reading, and may your golf tilt be minimal this weekend!