From La Quinta, California we take a short 80-mile jaunt down to beautiful San Diego for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. In yet another unique tournament on the West Coast Swing, we will see our 2nd multi-course event of the season. 

The first 36 holes will take place on Torrey Pines North and South, with the final 36 coming on the South course. Additionally, to avoid the NFC and AFC Championship games, this event will take place from Wednesday to Saturday.

 

 

 

The Farmers Insurance Open 2025: Daily Fantasy Golf Picks & Projections

This event is the 2nd full field event of the 2025 PGA TOUR season. We will be treated to 156 golfers competing for their share of a $9,300,000 prize and 500 FedEx cup points. 

This event will also mark our first non-birdie fest of the year, as the winning store has historically been between -6 and -16, with one outlier season in 2018 with Justin Rose winning with a score of -21.

 

 

 

Torrey Pines North and South: Course Breakdown This Week

With yet another multi-course event, we will be looking at both the North and South Course at Torrey Pines this week. Torrey Pines North plays at a much more approachable 7,258 yards, while Torrey Pines South will be playing at 7,765 yards. It’s easy to see why the South course will be used for the post-cut rounds. Both courses feature Kikuyugrass/Ryegrass fairways and rough, as well as Poa annua bentgrass greens. Each will be playing at par 72.

At the South course, we see a few key things that stand out when breaking the course down at a statistical level. Compared to your average PGA course, Driving Distance plays a much larger factor here, so this will be included in my model this week. Additionally, driving accuracy is not punished much, as it shows less viability than tour average. Putting will also play a large role in our evaluation.

At the North Course, we see much of the same. Driving Distance and Around The Green numbers look to be above tour average, while putting, driving accuracy, and approach all rate out as lesser factors. However, it is important to note that we do not have ShotLink data for Torrey Pines North, so we’re going to take some of this with a grain of salt.

Looking at the key statistics for this week, we will see many carry-overs from other early season events. Birdie or Better Percentage, Bogey Avoidance, and Strokes Gained: Approach-to-Green all make a return here given the historical impact of them at these courses. 

We do have new statistics coming into play this week as previously mentioned. Driving Distance plays a much larger role this week, given the length of both courses. Additionally, we will be looking at Approach from more than 200 yards out. In 2024, nearly 33% of approach shots came from this distance, with the next largest batch coming from the 150-200 range, which made up 38% of shots. 

We saw much of the same in 2023, where the same shot ranges consisted of 33% of shots and 37% of the shots respectively. Lastly, given the importance of putting and par-5 scoring at these events, we will be factoring in Birdie or Better Percentage on Par-5’s as well as 3 putt avoidance. 

One thing to consider this week is that weather will likely come into play. At the time of writing, the first three days of the event will be 70–80 degree high’s, with steady wind that isn’t expected to exceed 10 miles per hour regularly. That will change for our championship Saturday however, with a high of only 61 degrees, higher wind speeds of 10-20 miles per hour, and a near 40% chance of rain. Something to monitor but hopefully won’t impact scoring too heavily.

 

 

 

Farmers Insurance Open 2025 Field: Golf DFS

As mentioned, this field will consist of 156 professional players, who qualified through various different factors. This field is far less top heavy than most, with only 5 top 20 players by OWGR being in the field. Hideki Matsuyama and Ludvig Aberg lead the field as our only top 10 ranked players. 

Some notable players will be absent this week. As of Sunday, January 19th we have seen Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Nicolai Højgaard, Akshay Bhatia, Mackenzie Hughes, and Tyler McCumber withdraw. This opened up spots in the field for Hayden Springer, Wesley Bryan, S.H. Kim, Pierceson Coody, and Garrick Higgo to join. We also saw Kevin Tway and Dylan Wu join the field via Sponsor Exemptions. 

We will however get to see many of our recent winners, as Luke List, Max Home, and Matthieu Pavon will all be in the field, as will other previous winners Jason Day and Brandt Snedeker. 

 

 

 

This Week’s PGA DFS Optimizer & Lineup Generator

To enhance your daily fantasy golf selections and secure optimal PGA DFS values, it's advisable to utilize our PGA DFS optimizer and lineup generator. This optimizer serves as a valuable resource for daily fantasy golf enthusiasts aiming to develop effective lineups!

It provides projections, updates on player injuries and a range of analytical insights to facilitate the lineup-building process. Essentially, it functions as a strategic advantage for participants in daily fantasy golf and makes their own PGA DFS picks!

PGA Best Bets & Predictions: 2025 The Sentry Tournament of Champions (2-4 Overall, -1.5 Units)

  • Taylor Pendrith: Top 20 (+150)
  • Matti Schmid: Top German Golfer (+300) 

 

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: Top Tier

Ludvig Aberg ($11,900 FanDuel/$10,800 DraftKings)

To no ones surprise, Aberg leads my model as the favorite this week. In the 7 key stats being looked at here, he ranks 30th or better amongst all PGA tour players in 6 of the 7 which puts him squarely at the top of my list. He’s performed well here before as well, with a T9 finish here last year. 

From August 2024 to current, he’s playing one of the best stretches of golf we’ve seen from him, with T17 being his worst finish over his last 5 events, and multiple top 6 finishes during the same span. Any field Aberg is in, he is capable of pulling out the win, and this field is no exception. Unfortunately, he will likely be the chalk pick at this price, but given his history and skill-set, he might still be worth the pay-up. 

Max Greyserman ($11,400 FanDuel/$9,700 DraftKings)

Greyserman sneaks into lineups this week and into the top 5 of my model. Greyserman historically succeeds as a long hitter who can also putt, putting him in prime position this week. He missed the cut here last year, but it’s clear that part way through the 2024 season, something clicked for him. 

Prior to the U.S Open in June, Greyserman missed the cut or withdrew from 7 of his 15 starts. While he did have 3 top 15s, including finishes of T7 and solo 4th, it’s clear his game was struggling. Starting with a T21 at the U.S Open however, he missed no cuts the rest of the way, never finished worse than T33, and had 3 runner up finishes. 

This hot streak has continued this season as well, with a T24 at The Sentry and a T7 at The American Express. His general approach game is his potential downfall here, but his numbers from 200+ are some of the best in the field and I’m willing to bet he finds his way into many winning lineups this week.

 

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: MID TIER

Taylor Pendrith ($10,500 FanDuel/$8,800 DraftKings)

Pendrith is another player my model loves this week, as he ranks in the top half of the field in 3 of our 7 key stats, as well as top 10 in 3 and top 20 in the final stat. He’s been playing phenomenal golf of late, with just two finishes outside the top 20 since July of 2024. 

He’s played well here in his career as well, with finishes of T16 and T9 in 2 of his last 3 starts here. The largest areas of concern for him lie in his bogey avoidance and his approach from 200+, but given his top status in driving distance, birdie or better percentage, and Par 5 scoring, I’m going to be all over him at this price.

Luke Clanton ($10,200 FanDuel/$8,500 DraftKings)

I cannot, and will not, quit Luke Clanton. There is very little for me to say about Clanton that I haven’t already said. The kid is a star in the making, and even though he missed the cut at The Sony Open, he played better than his score showed. 

He gained +1.5 total strokes on the field per round at the event, though he played more conservatively than he typically does. I’m expecting him to shine here. He’s a long hitter with a solid approach game, and a deadly putter when he gets hot. I’ll pretty much always take a shot when the number 1 amateur in the world is in the field.

Jhonattan Vegas ($9,300 FanDuel/$7,400 DraftKings)

When I had Vegas as a top play at The Sentry, you may have thought I was crazy. He’d broken the top 20 just once since his win at the 3M Open, and his last two performances prior were his two worst in that span. 

But man, did he pay off. I’m sticking with Vegas this week as well, as this is yet another event his skill set lines up well with. As one of the longer hitters on tour, and one of the better scorers on tour, he lines up extremely well with Torrey Pines. His 3-putt avoidance is one of the largest areas we’re concerned with this week, as he ranks outside the top half of the field here, but he ranks in the top half, at minimum, in the other 6 stats, with 2 in the top 20 and top 10 respectively. 

Even missing the cut last week at The American Express, his putter was one of his best attributes, as he gained 2.15 strokes on the field with it, and I’m betting he performs yet again, and at a still discounted price.

 

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: VALUE TIER

Michael Kim ($8,700 FanDuel/$7,200 DraftKings)

We’re going back to Michael Kim this week. Is it a little scary? Sure, but I’m going to do it anyway. He ranks in the top half of every major statistic we’re looking at, as well as top 10 in Birdie or Better Gained and Approach from 200+. 

He has some historical precedence here as well, with made cuts in 6 of 8 events at Torrey Pines, and has some of his best rounds with the driver here. It’s certainly worth a shot in lineups.

Luke List ($8,100 FanDuel/$6,800 DraftKings)

List is an interesting bet here but let me explain. My model doesn’t particularly love him, as his 2024 season was far worse than he would’ve hoped. He missed as many cuts as he made, including a stretch where he missed 9 of 10. While his profile brings me some concerns, his historical performance at Torrey Pines gives me some hope. 

He’s made the cut here in his last 7 starts, has 4 top 25 finishes, including his win in 2022. Is this because of his above average distance, ability to hit quality approach shots from 200+ and avoid 3 putts? Probably. I’m going to sprinkle List into lineups this week and hope he can find his previous form.

Trey Mullinax ($7,700 FanDuel/$6,600 DraftKings)

Mullinax is a bomber who also has a solid approach game and can avoid 3-putts. Need I say more? He’s a streaky golfer to say the least, but when he’s on, he’s got legit top 20 potential, like he showed this past week at the American Express. 

He’s been up and down at Torrey Pines, with a couple of missed cuts but also multiple top 30 finishes. I’m expecting him to be a low rostered player though, and I’ll hope for some of that positive variance this week.

 

 

 

PGA DFS Picks This Week (Cheat Sheet)

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