Farmers Insurance Open Draft Kings Report

This week’s tournament takes place at Torrey Pines in San Diego, CA. The field of 156 will be playing two different courses; the North Course once, and then the South Course three times (for those that make the cut). Per usual, the top 65 (and ties) will make the cut after the first two rounds. The North Course is the easier of the two, measuring just over 7,200 yards with Bentgrass Greens. The South Course is much longer, measuring almost 7,700 yards with Poa Greens. Both are Par 72 courses.

This is it, folks. This is where the 2020 PGA season really begins. And not that the previous tournaments weren’t good, but this is when the big names come out. We have Rory, Day, Tiger, Spieth and Rose. What does this mean? Well, it means that a lot of these big names will be very popular among the more casual DFS players. So, I’m going to provide you with some of my favorite plays at each price tier in GPPs and also in Cash. I’ll also throw in an extra play, along with a fade. Let’s dive right in!

$9k+

Xander Schauffele - $10,100 (CASH):

Schauffele will be one of the higher owned players this week, projected around 16 percent. There’s a reason for that, though. He ranks in the top ten in the following stats: SG: BS, SG: Par 5, and Bogeys Avoided. He’s also top-20 in GIRs Gained, and then SG: P (Poa) over his last 100 rounds. The guy is just checking all of the boxes, and his recent form has been great with a T2 at the Tournament of Champions and a T10 at the Hero.

Patrick Reed - $9,200 (GPP):

I think that this course sets up nicely for Reed this week. He’s someone who is known for his putting, and on Poa greens, he ranks 24th over his last 100 rounds. Over his last 50 rounds, he ranks 11th in SG: ARG, 3rd in SG: P4 (450-500 yards), ninth in Bogeys Avoided, and ninth in Scrambling. He has great recent form, finishing T2 at the Tournament of Champions and third at the Hero. He also has back to back top 25 finishes here at the Farmers over the last two years. He will carry lower ownership at around nine to 10 percent, which is great to differentiate your lineups from the rest of the crowd.

Pivot = Justin Rose - $10,300

Fade = Rickie Fowler - $9,700

$8k+

Collin Morikawa - $8,900 (CASH):

Morikawa will be my cash play in a lot of tournaments this year. The only knock on him is that he isn’t a true “bomber” of the golf ball, ranking 112th in Dr. Distance over his last 50 rounds. With that said, he’s checking the boxes for me in all of the other areas. He’s third in SG: BS, 12th in SG: P4 (450-500 yards), and top 30 in both Bogeys Avoided and GIRs Gained. He finished T21 at the Sony and T7 at the Tournament of Champions.

Cameron Smith - $8,700 (GPP):

Smith is a play that I’m excited about this week. He won the Sony Open a couple of weeks back in a playoff against Brendan Steele. His putter has been hot on Poa Annua, ranking sixth in SG: P (Poa). He ranks in the top 30 in both SG: ARG and Bogeys Avoided and ranks in the top 50 in SG: P4 (450-500) and SG: P5.

Pivot = Matthew Wolff - $8,200

Fade = Ryan Palmer - $8,000

$7k+

Lanto Griffin - $7,900 (CASH):

This will be one of the chalkiest plays for any golfer under $10k, but I’m ok with that. Griffin had a T12 finish here in 2018, and this year he has a T7 at the Sony to go along with a 13th place finish at the Tournament of Champions. As far as key stats go, he’s seventh in SG: P5, 13th in Bogeys Avoided and 10th in Scrambling.

Harris English - $7,400 (GPP):

English will have some ownership, but right now it’s around 12-13 percent. He made the cut at last week’s American Express but finished T48. He does have great success here at the Farmers with three top 15 finishes over the last five years (two of them were top 10 finishes). He’s also checking the boxes for me. 15th in SG: P4 (450-500 yards), top 15 in Bogeyes Avoided, GIRs Gained and SG: P (Poa).

Pivot = Sebastian Munoz = $7,300

Fade = Keegan Bradley = $7,300

$6k+

Carlos Ortiz - $6,900 (CASH):

Ortiz was a flier that I threw into some lineups last week, and even though he finished T48 he’s one of the few guys under $7k that I feel comfortable playing in cash. He ranks in the top six in SG: P4 (450-500), SG: P (Poa) and Scrambling. He’s also 15th in SG: ARG and 23rd in both Dr. Distance and Bogeys Avoided.

Jimmy Walker - $6,600 (GPP):

Walkers projected ownership right now is at one percent. Let’s do it. He’s 15th in Bogeys Avoided, fourth in SG: P (Poa) and second in Scrambling. He also has two top-ten finishes here at the Farmers in both 2015 and 2016.

Pivot = Martin Laird - $6,400

Fade = Sepp Straka - $6,900

Key Stats “Key”:

SG: BS = Strokes Gained Ball Striking

SG: ARG = Strokes Gained Around the Greens

Dr. Distance = Driving Distance

SG: P4 (450-500) = Strokes Gained Par 4 Scoring (Holes measuring 450-500 Yards)

SG: P5 = Strokes Gained Par 5 Scoring

Bogeys Avoided

GIRs Gained = Grees in Regulation Gained

SG: P (Poa) = Strokes Gained Putting on Poa Greens

Scrambling Gained