Ranking The Field: Farmers Insurance Open

Posted By
Joel Cook
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Rickie Fowler

The notoriously difficult Torrey Pines is the venue of this week’s highly-anticipated PGA Tour event: the Farmers Insurance Open.

Tiger Woods returns, reportedly in good health, for his first tournament in a year, and at a place where he was won eight times (seven in this event plus the 2008 U.S. Open), but he’s just one name in an impressively strong field.

10. CHARLEY HOFFMAN

As a San Diego native, this tournament holds a special place for Charley Hoffman, who we saw play the best stretch of his career late in 2017.

Aside from a T7 in 2014, Hoffman’s recent finishes in this event have not been impressive, but looking at it closer, he has posted numerous good rounds, but always seems to have one poor round that gets away from him.

With the consistency he has shown over the past year, we think this could be the year he ditches that habit. Last time we saw Hoffman, he was the solo-runner up at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

Odds: 55-1
World Rank: 23rd
Field Rank: 10th
2017 (Farmers Insurance Open) Finish: 54th
Last Seven Starts: 2, MC, 18, 28, 27, 47, 17

9. PATRICK CANTLAY

Cantlay has finished in the top 15 in each of this three starts this season, including a breakthrough victory at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in November.

In his 13 starts in 2017, the former UCLA star didn’t miss a cut, and finished in the top 10 in both strokes gained: off-the-tee and strokes gained: total.

It’s a tough course with a tough field, but Cantlay has shown in the past 12 months that he can be competitive anywhere.

Odds: 30-1
World Rank: 36th
Field Rank: 13th
2017 Finish: DNP
Last Seven Starts: 15, 1, 15, 20, 9, 13, 10

8. JHONATTAN VEGAS

The career of the 33-year-old Venezuelan bomber has been plagued by inconsistency, but Vegas looks refreshed in the new year, storming out of the gate with a T7 and a T11.,

Vegas has had success at Torrey Pines before with a T18 in 2016 and a T11 in 2015. He is as likely as anyone in the field to suddenly explode with a 65 or 66, and based on that recent form and his fit for the course (distance off the tee, par 5 scoring), we see at least two sub-70 rounds and a third straight quality finish for Vegas.

Odds: 50-1
World Rank: 37th
Field Rank: 14th
Last Seven Starts: 11, 7, 61, 20, 54, 39, 30
2017 Finish: 28th

7. RICKIE FOWLER

Based on talent and recent form, Fowler should be considered in the top 3 of this field, but he has played this tournament surprisingly poorly in recent years, with three missed cuts and a T61 in his last four tries.

Still, his last three starts have yielded three top 4 finishes, including a win at Tiger’s event, the Hero World Challenge in December, where he jumped across many quality players in this field with a Sunday 61.

He was second on Tour in 2017 in strokes gained: putting, and first in sand save percentage, so if this turns into a short case showcase, Fowler’s name should stay close to the lead.

Odds: 10-1
World Rank: 7th
Field Rank: 4th
Last Seven Starts: 4, 1, 2, 26, 2, 13, 20
2017 Finish: MC

6. SHANE LOWRY

This will be the first start for the 30-year-old Irishman since he finished second to Jon Rahm at the DP World Tour Championship in November. It was the the fourth straight quality start for Lowry, who finished T12, T8, T12 in his previous three tournaments.

In addition to improving recent form, Lowry also has a history of playing well at Torrey Pines, with a T13 in 2016, and a T7 in 2015. For the most part, he was quiet on the PGA Tour in 2017, but finished the year highly ranked both in strokes gained: off-the-tee (16th) and strokes gained: putting (10th).

Odds: 45-1
World Rank: 64th
Field Rank: 27th
Last Seven Starts: 2, 12, 8, 12, MC, 25, 7
2017 Finish: 33rd

5. TONY FINAU

At a course of over 7700 yards, Finau’s elite length off the tees and formidable approach game give him a considerable advantage at Torrey Pines.

Finau has cooled off somewhat since a T7, T7, T4 tear in late September, but has remained amazingly consistent. He also has positive history at the Farmers Insurance Open, going 3-for-3 with a best finish of T4 in last year’s edition.

Odds: 33-1
World Rank: 44th
Field Rank: 16th
Last Seven Starts: 32, 16, 11, 26, 2, 7, 7
2017 Finish: 4th

4. GARY WOODLAND

The field is already aware that Gary Woodland is long off the tees and hits a lot of greens in regulation, but one surprise early in the new season: Woodland has the flat stick going too.

He ranks 14th in strokes gained: putting at the moment, and if he keeps taking advantage of all the greens he hits, watch out.

Woodland has also shown an affinity for Torrey Pines, finishing in the top 20 in each of his past four attempts, including a T3 in 2015 where he posted back-to-back 65s on Friday and Saturday.

Odds: 40-1
World Rank: 55th
Field Rank: 21st
Last Seven Starts: 7, 34, 18, 40, 28, 19, 27
2017 Finish: 20th

3. MARC LEISHMAN

The two-time Tour winner in 2017, who finished the season fourth in scoring average, has had a strange pattern in recent months of vacillating between excellent results and poor finishes.

Since winning at the BMW Championship, the third event of the FedExCup Playoffs in September, Leishman has gone T24 (in a 30-man field), 2, T38, T7, T47.

If that pattern holds, he should have a productive week in San Diego. The 34-year-old Aussie finished T20 at Torrey Pines last year, and was runner-up to Scott Stallings in 2014.

Odds: 22-1
World Rank: 13th
Field Rank: 5th
Last Seven Starts: 47, 7, 4, 38, 2, 24, 1
2017 Finish: 20th

2. JUSTIN ROSE

Rose was a minor disappointment at last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, where he finished T22, but in six other starts since the 2017 PGA Tour season ended, he has three wins, including one in a WGC event, a T4, a T5, and a T10.

Rose has traditionally not been great in this event, but did finish T4 in last year’s edition after opening with a 7-under 65. His game is too dialed-in right now to not consider him among the favorites in this event, regardless of his tournament history.

Odds: 14-1
World Rank: 6th
Field Rank: 3rd
Last Seven Starts: 22, 1, 5, 10, 4, 1, 1
2017 Finish: 4th

1. JON RAHM

The new World No. 2 is the defending champion of this event, blitzing the Sunday field with a 7-under 65 that propelled him from 12th to the top of the leaderboard, and his first career PGA Tour victory.

That immaculate final round included two back nine eagles, with the latter being a 60-foot exclamation putt on the final hole.

Not only does Rahm have event history working in his favor, but his current form is phenomenal. He won last week’s CareerBuilder Challenge, and also has a European Tour victory and a T2 in his last three starts. Every part of his game is clicking.

Odds: 7-1
World Rank: 2nd
Field Rank: 1st
Last Seven Starts: 1, 2, 1, 36, MC, 15, 7
2017 Finish: 1st

NEXT 5

Hideki Matsuyama
World No. 5
Field Rank: 2nd
Odds: 14-1
Last Seven: 4, 5, 5, 50, 5, 26, 47
2017 Finish: 33

Jason Day
World No. 14
Field Rank: 6th
Odds: 18-1
Last Seven: 5, 11, 11, 17, 4, 25, 6
2017 Finish: MC

Phil Mickelson
World No. 46
Field Rank: 18th
Odds: 45-1
Last Seven: MC, 15, 3, 20, 6, 54, MC, 39
2017 Finish: 14

Tiger Woods
World No. 647
Field Rank: 146th
Odds: 20-1
Last Seven: 9, WD, MC, 15
2017 Finish: MC

Xander Schauffele
World No. 26
Field Rank: 12th
Odds: 50-1
Last Seven: 32, 22, 2, 46, 72, 3, 1
2017 Finish: MC

FIELD: FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN

OWGRPLAYER
2Jon Rahm
5Hideki Matsuyama
6Justin Rose
7Rickie Fowler
13Marc Leishman
14Jason Day
19Alex Noren
20Brian Harman
22Francesco Molinari
23Charley Hoffman
24Patrick Reed
26Xander Schauffele
36Patrick Cantlay
37Jhonattan Vegas
40Siwoo Kim
44Tony Finau
45Kyle Stanley
46Phil Mickelson
48Brendan Steele
52Adam Hadwin
55Gary Woodland
56Peter Uihlein
57Cameron Smith
59James Hahn
61Bill Haas
62Julian Suri
64Shane Lowry
65Brandt Snedeker
66Charles Howell III
70Billy Horschel
71Anirban Lahiri
73Keegan Bradley
75Jimmy Walker
77Emiliano Grillo
78Russell Knox
79Chesson Hadley
82Sunghoon Kang
84Lucas Glover
90J.B. Holmes
95Bryson DeChambeau
97Jamie Lovemark
102Andrew Landry
106Ollie Schniederjans
107Sean O'Hair
110Bud Cauley
113Grayson Murray
119Meenwhee Kim
121J.J Spaun
125Danny Lee
131Martin Laird
137David Lingmerth
141Stewart Cink
147Luke List
149Luke Donald
151Mackenzie Hughes
153Harold Varner III
154Padraig Harrington
163Robert Streb
175Kevin Streelman
176Chris Kirk
179Cameron Davis
184Patrick Rodgers
186C.T. Pan
191Jim Herman
193Nick Taylor
199Morgan Hoffmann
201Kevin Tway
204Alex Cejka
205Ryan Palmer
208Aaron Wise
209Talor Gooch
212Martin Piller
217Tom Hoge
219Kelly Kraft
222Brice Garnett
229Ted Potter-jr
231Aaron Baddeley
237Rob Oppenheim
246Jonathan Randolph
250Robert Garrigus
251Smylie Kaufman
252Harris English
257Matt Jones
258Benjamin Silverman
262Chad Campbell
265Nate Lashley
270Brandon Harkins
271Rod Pampling
274Jonathan Byrd
275Richy Werenski
277Beau Hossler
280Jonas Blixt
280Abraham Ancer
285Sam Ryder
286Zhang Xin-jun
293John Huh
294Stephan Jaeger
295Nicholas Lindheim
299Adam Schenk
301Martin Flores
302Scott Stallings
305JT Poston
307Seamus Power
314David Hearn
327Tyrone van Aswegen
327Cody Gribble
333Geoff Ogilvy
339Cameron Tringale
342Michael Thompson
343Andrew Putnam
346Keith Mitchell
347Michael Kim
350Derek Fathauer
354Shawn Stefani
357Johnson Wagner
358Marty Dou Zecheng
359Trey Mullinax
363Kyle Thompson
366Tom Lovelady
369Rory Sabbatini
371Camilo Villegas
378Conrad Shindler
385Tyler Duncan(Jul1989)
386Retief Goosen
393Lanto Griffin
400Nick Watney
412Zac Blair
420Ben Crane
431Bronson Burgoon
433Andrew Yun
437Matt Atkins
506Troy Merritt
506Ethan Tracy
522J.J. Henry
532Joel Dahmen
542Roberto Diaz
578Steve Wheatcroft
603Denny McCarthy
609Hunter Mahan
632Corey Conners
647Tiger Woods
656K.J. Choi
678Brett Stegmaier
695Peter Malnati
701Andrew Loupe
722Matt Every
874Sam Burns
1904Maverick McNealy
1929Sangmoon Bae
1929Michael Block
1929Will Zalatoris(Am)

Credits: Getty Images, OWGR

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