There is plenty on the line when the third full-field event of the 2024 FedEx Cup season begins Thursday with the Farmers Insurance Open at the iconic Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego.
It's the final opportunity for players to earn spots into next week's signature event at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.
FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN
Location: San Diego, Jan. 24-27
Course: Torrey Pines Golf Course, South Course (Par 72, 7,765 yards); North (Par 72, 7,258 yards)
Purse: $9M (Winner: $1.62M)
Defending Champion: Max Homa
FedEx Cup Leader: Chris Kirk
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Wednesday-Thursday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Friday, 3-5 p.m. (GC), 5-8 p.m. (CBS); Saturday, 2-4 p.m. (GC), 4-8 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Wednesday-Thursday, 11:45 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Friday-Saturday, 12-8 p.m.
X: @FarmersInsOpen
PROP PICKS
Jason Day to Beat Tony Finau (110 at DraftKings): Finau finished T9 last year but hasn't been in great form to begin 2024, following a T38 at The Sentry with a T25 last week. Day posted four rounds of 68 or better last week, but that was only good for a T34. However, he has an excellent track record at Torrey Pines, where he won in 2015 and 2018, tied for second in 2014 and third in 2022. He also posted a T7 last year.
Sungjae Im to Finish Top 20 (+100 at BetMGM): Im tied for fourth last year and while he's coming off a T25 at the AmEx, he has six top-20s and a T21 in his past seven worldwide starts.
Emiliano Grillo Top South American (+150 at DraftKings): Grillo only managed a T44 last year, but that was behind only Jhonattan Vegas (T25) among those in this prop. Vegas is being offered at +290, behind Alejandro Tosti (+280) and Nico Echavarria (+425). Echavarria missed the cut in 2023 while Tosti was not in the field. Grillo went on to win the Charles Schwab Challenge last year and while he has three missed cuts in his past six starts, he is coming off a T7 at the Sony Open and finished T10 at the Zozo four starts ago.
2024 Prop Picks Record: 5-4
BEST BETS
Xander Schauffele (+900 at BetMGM) has the longest active streak on tour with 36 consecutive cuts made dating back to the 2022 Masters. He finished T13 at Torrey Pines last year but is still seeking his first stroke-play title since the 2022 Scottish Open.
Collin Morikawa (+1000) finished third last year and won just three starts ago at the Zozo. He's being offered at +1100 at DraftKings, where Morikawa is second in the field with 7 percent of the bets backing him to win.
Max Homa (+1100) is the defending champion and has eight top-10s in his past 11 starts in his home state.
Patrick Cantlay (+1200) is seeking to rebound from a T52 at the AmEx following a T12 at The Sentry. He hasn't won since the 2022 BMW Championship, and it's fair to speculate whether his leading role on the players' side in the merger discussions is impacting his game similar to how it affected Rory McIlroy previously.
Keegan Bradley (+3000), who finished runner-up to Homa last year, is coming off a playoff loss to Grayson Murray at the Sony Open.
Sahith Theegala (+3300) finished T4 last year. He has been sporadic, posting a win and a solo second along with a pair of missed cuts in his past five starts. Theegala's odds have shortened to +3000 at DraftKings, where he leads the field with 10 percent of the money and 8 percent of the total bets backing him.
NOTES
The event is contested from Wednesday-Saturday to avoid a conflict with the NFL playoffs and is one of four on the PGA Tour schedule that is contested on multiple courses. After players alternate on the two courses for the first two rounds, the final 36 holes are played on the South Course
The top five players in the Aon Swing 5 standings after this event will earn a spot in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the second signature event of 2024. The current top five are Grayson Murray, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Justin Thomas, Kevin Yu and Carl Yuan. No. 6 is Michael Kim, a Torrey Pines High School graduate making his eighth event start this week.
Tiger Woods (1999) and George Burns (1987) share the tournament scoring record of 266. Woods holds the 18-hole South Course record of 62 set in the third round in 1999.
Nick Dunlap withdrew on Monday after winning the AmEx as an amateur and is considering whether to accept PGA Tour membership or return to the University of Alabama, where he is a sophomore.
Former DP World Tour stars Ryan Fox and Adrian Meronk will make their first starts as PGA Tour members.
Farmers will reportedly end its runs as the title sponsor when its contract expires after the 2026 event.
More must-reads: