Farmer's Insurance Open: Expert Picks

Farmer's Insurance Open
When: January 28^th - 31st
Where: Torrey Pines Golf Course, La Jolla, CA.
2015 Winner: Jason Day (-9)

The format of this will go: I will select golfers based on the Yahoo format. I will select one A golfer, 2 B golfers and 1 C golfer that I think will do well as well as one dark horse pick, this should space out the selections and provide a vast field to select from for anyone who is in a format where you are limited to 10 starts per year.

Torrey Pines Golf Course -  The tournament is named after the Torrey Pine tree that grows along the coastline in the area.  Created by William Bell in 1957 and redesigned by Rees Jones in 2001. Torrey Pines is yet another scenic course to watch on TV. Challenges here include the fog and wind that come off the ocean, some tight fairways and lush roughs. The south course, while more scenic overlooking the pacific, can have tougher approaches and speed on the greens. The north course has some more elevated shots with greens that are more approachable.

A:
Jason Day. He's the heavy favorite, the ten year vet from Australia won last year, finished in 2^nd two years ago and this will be his 2^nd tournament this year. There is always a chance for a slow start but he finished 10^th in the Hyundai tournament of Champions so he seems to be fresh and ready for 2016.

B:
Brandt Snedeker. Sneeeedeker, the 12 year vet out of Vanderbilt is off to a strong 2016 so far. His last three tournaments include: win at Templeton, 3^rd at Hyundai Tournament of Champions and 2^nd at the Sony Open. He's 12^th on the tour in strokes gained putting, additionally he's been perfect scrambling from the fringe should he struggle on the south course. He won at Torrey Pines in 2012, 2nd in 2013, missed the cut in 2014 and finished 19^th last year.

Patrick Reed. I am pick Reed a lot to start 2016, and I'm ok with that, he is yet again off to a strong start. He had a down tournament at CareerBuilder (56th) but he'll bounce back strong here where he  finished 39^th in 2013. This year he has finished 10^th (CIMB), 7^th (World Golf Championships), 2^nd (Hero World Challenge), 12^th (Franklin Templeton) and 2^nd (Hyundai Tournament of Champions). He is probably the best scrambler so far this season and has a perfect track record putting from 5' out which you will see a lot of those shots this tournament.

C:
Bill Haas. The 12 year vet out of Wake Forest is off to a good start in 2016. 33^rd finish at RSM Classic, 5^th at Hero World, 18^th at Hyundai and 9^th at Careerbuilder Bill is hitting the ball well. Another good scrambler, Bill putts well from just outside of the 3' comfort area. His recent track record here is 19^th in 2015, 43^rd in 2014 and 9^th in 2013. He's hitting the ball well right now and has the poise to stretch through until Sunday.

Dark Horse Pick:
Paul Dunne. Paul MIGHT be the rookie player of the year, over recent years you might remember the likes of Bud Cauley, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Kopeka and  Patrick Reed as they made solid debuts. The Irish player will make his PGA Tour debut at Torrey Pines so not much is known on his professional demeanor for the PGA Tour.  If you vaguely remember the name, he lead the Open Championship after 54 holes last year before dropping down to finish 30^th.

Last tournament results - Careerbuilder Challenge w/CI  (156 total people in the tournament)
A: 84th place
B: 56th place; 17th place
C: 49th place
Dark Horse: 6th place

YTD Avg:
A: 60th place
B: 20th place (across the two selections)
C: 19th place
Dark Horse: 8th place