For the second of two straight events in California, the PGA TOUR is hosting the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, which has been the home of this event since 1968. Harris English (-8) won last year’s Farmers Insurance Open by one shot. There will be 145 players competing this week and each of these players will play one round at the South Course (par 72, 7,765 yards, POA greens) and the North Course (par 72, 7,258 yards, bentgrass greens) of Torrey Pines. Then, there will be a top-65 and ties cut and the players who advance will return to the South Course for their final two rounds. With three of the four rounds being played at the South Course, this is the host venue of the Farmers Insurance Open. All of the previous SG data for this event comes exclusively from the South Course and this is the course we need to focus on for research. The South Course also hosted the 2008 U.S. Open won by Tiger Woods, the 2021 U.S. Open won by Jon Rahm and last year’s Genesis Invitational won by Ludvig Aberg.
The South Course is the longest course on the annual PGA TOUR schedule. This lengthy and challenging track features narrow fairways, thick rough, small greens, 82 bunkers and water in play on just one hole. Despite its daunting length, both short and long hitters have won at the South Course, with the defending champion in English being a prime example of a short hitter winning here. The veteran ranked just 83rd in driving distance last season and he finished only T-48 in driving distance during his Farmers Insurance Open win a year ago.
Winning the Farmers Insurance Open mostly boils down to your play with your irons and putter, as for four straight years, the victor of this event has finished the week top-10 in both SG APP and SGP. Another key to winning at the Farmers Insurance Open is scoring well on the par fours of the South Course, specifically the 450-500-yard par fours. Six of the 10 par fours at this par 72 fall in this range and four of the last five winners of the Farmers Insurance Open have either led or finished runner-up in efficiency on the 450-500-yard par fours of the South Course.
Below, I have featured four of my favorite DraftKings bargain plays for the Farmers Insurance Open, which all cost less than $7.5K.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]
Top DraftKings PGA TOUR DFS Bargain Plays for the Farmers Insurance Open
Sahith Theegala ($7,400) – After being a featured pick in this article last week and finishing T-8 at the American Express, we need to go right back to Theegala again at the Farmers Insurance Open. Theegala closed the American Express with a 7-under 65 at the Pete Dye Stadium Course and his T-8 at this event is his best finish on the PGA TOUR in over a year. Theegala has only failed to make the cut once in his last seven starts and he has finished T-31 or better at four of these tournaments.
After a disappointing 2025 season, Theegala’s game is in a great place right now and the California native should keep his foot on the gas at the Farmers Insurance Open. Theegala has never missed a cut in four starts at this event, including a T-4 in 2023.
Thorbjorn Olesen ($7,300) – While Olesen will be making his Farmers Insurance Open debut this week, the Dane should never be this cheap. Olesen was priced above $9,000 for most of the fall swing and he is playing great golf right now. Olesen has made 12 of his last 14 cuts worldwide and he has carded nine top-15 finishes during this run. In the new year, Olesen has finished T-7 at the Dubai Invitational and T-10 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
Both of these tournaments were played at difficult venues, setting him up well for the challenge that awaits at the South Course this week. At +5900 on DraftKings Sportsbook, Olesen carries the best odds to win the Farmers Insurance Open of all the players priced under $7.5K for DFS, which is clear evidence that the 36-year-old is way underpriced for his talent at only $7,300.
Patrick Rodgers ($7,200) – Rodgers has made four of his last six cuts at the Farmers Insurance Open, including a pair of T-9 finishes, and the Stanford product returns to La Jolla in convincing form. Rodgers has made eight of his last 10 cuts and he has carded three top-10 finishes during this span.
Rodgers has shot under par in 13 consecutive rounds and he ranks eighth in total strokes gained when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds. Rodgers has top-25 upside this week and he is tough to overlook at only $7,200.
Austin Smotherman ($6,900) – After spending last season competing on the Korn Ferry TOUR and winning twice on that circuit, Smotherman earned full-time status for the PGA TOUR this season and the 31-year-old is fresh off an impressive performance at the American Express last week. Smotherman finished T-8 while gaining strokes in every major category at the event. He has made 10 of his last 14 cuts between the Korn Ferry TOUR and PGA TOUR, and the California native now heads to La Jolla for the Farmers Insurance Open, where Smotherman finished T-11 in 2022.
Smotherman closed that event with a 6-under 66 at the South Course and he could surprise with another high finish at Torrey Pines this week given his ascending form. Smotherman should come with very little ownership and at this near-minimum price tag, he is an outstanding, cheap gamble for GPPs.
