Farmers Insurance Open 2026
- FTO
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
January 28, 2026
What a weekend we had with the AMEX, AFC/NFC Championship Games, and for most of the United States a massive pile of snow. If only we could all be on the PGA and have enjoyed the Hawaii and California weather! As we predicted, which was as cliche as ever, Scottie Scheffler notches another win and further cements himself as the most dominant player in golf since Tiger. As for our picks we went 3 for 4 making the cut, Si Woo Kim T6, Patrick Cantlay T13, and Sam Burns T27. Lets dive into the next event The Farmers Insurance Open.
The 2026 Farmers Insurance Open: A West Coast Test Awaits
The 2026 Farmers Insurance Open has consistently lived up as one of the most intriguing early-season PGA Tour events, blending scenic seaside golf with a rugged test that separates ball-strikers from the rest. Held annually at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, California, this event carries deep tradition and drama — and this year adds a compelling subplot with the greatly anticipated return of Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour for the first time since his LIV Golf stint under the Returning Member Program.
Torrey Pines: North + South — One Tournament, Two Worlds
Located atop coastal bluffs overlooking the Pacific, Torrey Pines Golf Course features two distinct championship layouts: the North Course and the South Course.
South Course — The Arduous Main Stage
Length & layout: ~7,765 yards, par 72 — one of the longest and toughest tests on Tour.
Greens & turf: Poa annua greens and kikuyu/ryegrass rough make ball-striking precision and short-game resilience vital.
Challenge: Narrow fairways, penal rough, bunkers protecting small greens — the South Course demands length and iron accuracy, and it routinely ranks among the top five toughest courses the Tour sees each season.
Play format: After two rounds split between both courses, the weekend is solely on the South Course, where the title is decided.
North Course — Birdie Opportunity
Slightly shorter and more forgiving, the North Course provides a better scoring opportunity and is used for one of the first two rounds. Its wider fairways and softer bentgrass greens help players build momentum before transitioning back to the South.
Weather –
The course locations can bring some unpredictable weather and wind but this year it seems to be extremely mild.
Looking Back: What Trends Tell Us
The Farmers Insurance Open has been played at Torrey Pines since 1968 and has a history of tight scoring despite its difficulty — winners usually finish around 15-under par or lower. Given the weather forecast we predict somewhere around -18 will take it home.
This tournament has a history of legendary winners due to not only the longevity of the tournament, but also the extremely competitive field that always come out to play, many of which are multiple time winners.
Most Notable Multiple Time Winners
- Tiger Woods: 7 (far and away the most successful here)
- Arnold Palmer: 2
- Phil Mickelson: 3
- Tom Watson: 2
- Jason Day: 2 (going for 3 this week)
Notable aspects:
Winners often excel in approach play and scrambling due to thick rough and small greens.
The South Course has hosted two U.S. Opens (2008 and 2021), further cementing its reputation as a test of championship golf.
The Purse–
Winners The total purse is another 2nd tier range at $9,600,000.
Our Favorite Golfers This Week (DraftKings pricing and odds)
The 2026 field is full of big names. Let’s dive into our favorites, fades, dark horses, and One-and-Done selections:
Top Picks
Xander Schauffele ($10,500 DFS; +1475 to win)
X-man is relatively a chalky pick and the favorite to win because his style of play fits this event so well. On a high level, you can see only 5 out of 9 cuts made at this event, but over the last 5 he has made 4 out of 5 cuts, finishing 2nd, 9th, 13th, and 34th. His driving accuracy isn’t the strongest but his strokes gained on approach ranks 12th overall on tour. That paired with the smaller greens gives him a major leg up on the field.
Cameron Young ($10,000 DFS; +1950 to win)
Normally we like players with good history at the course(s) and events being played but we are going outside of that thought process with Cam Young. He has been on tour since 2018-2019 and only played this event twice with the last being 2021. The driving factor into selecting him is his tournament play recently. Since he was cut from the Open Championship in mid July he’s played 6 events; 1 win, 4 top 10’s, and an 11th place finish. Not only that he was one of the lone bright spots on the US Ryder Cup Team going 3-1. Pair that with his extremely accurate driving and putting that ranks 7th in strokes gained on tour we would be surprised if he doesn’t turn his past at Torrey Pines around this week.
Jason Day ($9,600 DFS; +3300 to win)
What a career Jason Day has had so far and this week he goes for his 3rd Farmers Insurance Open which would tie him with Phil at 3. Only a “tad” behind Tiger who has won it 7 times. He ranks slightly above average on tour off the tee but his strokes gained putting, approach to green, and around the green are staggering. Putting he is 1st, approach to the green 15th, and around the green 2nd. Only question we have is how many wins could he have piled up if his back didn’t betray him in the mid 2010’s.
Fade - Outside of top 15
Patrick Cantlay ($10,000 DFS; +2350 to win)
Cantlay is a solid overall golfer no question about it and had a strong showing last week at the AMEX, but in 4 attempts here hes been cut twice and finished 51st and 56th. His style of play has never matched up well here and we don’t believe that will change this week.
Ludvig Aberg ($10,400 DFS; +1700 to win)
Aberg will be on some radars this week to win which he can, but we don’t think a top 15 finish is happening this year. The fairways are very tight and typically he can get away with hitting the ball a country mile and masking his average play around the greens. However this week with the rough being thicker we project a 17th-35th finish for him.
JJ Spaun ($9,400 DFS; +2800 to win)
Spaun became a name in every golf fans house last year with his ridiculous walk off putt to win the US Open propelling him to his best season on tour and his 1st Ryder Cup Team. His history here is decent but in 9 appearances he hasn’t cracked the top 10 since his 1st in 2017. This course doesn’t set up well for him and we believe that will continue.
Dark Horse - outright winner to top 10
Tony Finau ($7,000 DFS; +17000 to win)
Tony has hasn’t been himself since 2024. Following a disappointing 2025 he has started this year missing the cut in the 1st 2 events. This is where we believe he can right the ship. In 11 events hes made the cut 9 times with 6 top 10’s. Finau is a fan favorite and we all want to see him get back and this is an event that can turn it around for him.
Max Homa ($8,300 DFS; +4900 to win)
Homa similar to Finau had some bright spots in 2025 but he was hoping to be better and build into a star. He holds this tournament in high standards as he does most events in California where he grew up and played his college golf. He had a strong finish to last season after a run of 5 straight missed cuts leading to the Masters and we expect him to have his best season on tour so far.
One-and Done Notes
As touched on in the opening we came back strong this week going 3 for 4 on our picks making the cut. Frank had the top pick with Si Woo Kim T6 and Collin had Sam Burns T27.
We will discuss more on our strategies as we move forward, including when to consider fading the field or when it’s best to play chalk. If you don’t want to wait, feel free to reach out in the comments or over on X @FTO_picks. We are always happy to talk golf with you!
Our One-and-Done Picks
Collin – Tony Finau
Frank – Jason Day
That’s it for this week. Check back Tuesday for our Phoenix Open preview and follow us on our new X account @FTO_picks!
*This preview does not represent our final betting picks for this event. For our full set of picks, check out our Game Picks section!
**Odds accurate at time of posting.