Fantasy Golf Picks- 2015 Farmers Insurance Open
Torrey Pines is tough, but these fantasy golf picks have what it takes to win you cash!
Top Plays
Brandt Snedeker- $20,200
Snedeker is coming off a solid showing in the Phoenix Open where he finished tied for 10th place shooting 10-under par and closing with a 66 in the final round (his best round of the tournament). It was his third 10th place finish in five events played in this golf season. While his recent play is strong, it’s his track record at Torrey Pines that gets him the nod as my favorite of the big ticket golfers. Snedeker missed the cut in last year’s Farmers Insurance Open, but since 2010 he’s been a beast finishing in the top-10 four times with two tied for second finishes and a win (2012).
Graham DeLaet- $19,400
DeLaet has played in six events this year and made the cut in five, finishing in the top-10 in one of them. That top-10 finish came in last week’s Phoenix Open where his 11-under par was good for a tied for seventh finish. The Canadian doesn’t dominate this event like the other pricey tout in this piece, Snedeker, but he’s trending in the right direction. DeLaet missed the cut playing in the Farmers Insurance Open in 2010 and 2012, sandwiched around not playing in the event in 2011, but has a back-to-back top-10 finishes with a tied for ninth in 2013 and a tied for second last year.
Middle Tier Play
K.J. Choi- $16,350
It’s fitting that Choi immediately follows DeLaet in this article, as he’s tied with the Canadian for second and ninth in the last two Farmers Insurance Opens. Unlike DeLaet, though, his track record is a little longer with a tied for 29th finish in 2011 and a tied for 15th in 2010 (he didn’t play in the event in 2012). In addition to fairing well in this event, Choi has played decent in 2015 with a tied for 22nd place finish in the Phoenix Open last week and a tied for 44th at the Sony Open in Hawaii earlier in the year.
Value Plays
Tony Finau- $14,400
Finau’s rookie season on the PGA Tour has been solid with six cuts made in eight events that includes five top-25s, two of which were in the top-10. He showed well in a deep and talented field last week finishing tied for 22nd. Torrey Pines is a challenging course for a rookie, but Finau’s mix of skills should mitigate concerns about him stumbling. As Rob Bolton of PGAtour.com notes in his Power Rankings article, the South Course at Torrey Pines is the longest course on the PGA Tour. Three of the four rounds played in the Farmers Insurance Open will be played on that course, and that makes Finau’s second highest average driving distance of 309.5 yards downright tantalizing. And unlike some bombers, Finau isn’t just letting it fly and hacking his way to the greens as his greens or fringe in regulation percentage of 77.53% ranks 30th this year.
Ryo Ishikawa-$13,750
Back-to-back missed cuts for Ishikawa will likely have many DFS gamers fading him, but he was solid back in the fall with three cuts made in three tries finishing in the top-30 all three times. While that’s fine and dandy, it’s his tied for seventh finish last year at the Farmers Insurance Open and his tied for 13th finish i 2012 that have him in my lineup plans.