Torrey Pines Key Fantasy Stats

Farmers Insurance Open

January 25th – 28th, 2018

Torrey Pines South Course

San Diego, CA

Par: 72 / Yardage: 7,698

Purse: $6.9 million

with $1,206,000 to the winner

Defending Champion:
Jon Rahm

by Sal Johnson

Founder, Chief Data Officer, GOLFstats

E-mail me at:
sal@golfstats.com

This is based on the most important stats for Torrey Pines South Course, based on data from last years Farmers Insurance Open, and using data from all the players in the field for with stats from 2017 and 2018. What we do is take their rank for each stat and average that number between players rank in ’17 & ’18.
Event is played on two courses, so the data is only for the rounds played on the South Course, not the one round data from the North Course
The scoring average of the field on Torrey South Course in 2017 was 72.77 making it the 14th hardest course on the PGA Tour. It was almost 2 shots easier than in 2016 when it was the 2nd hardest course on tour with a 74.50. In that year they had high winds so severe that they had to finish the round on Monday, so that is the reason for the change. 72.77 is about the norm, while over on the South course the changes to the course did make it harder at 71.28. One of the reasons that 2017 was easier was the wind. Since the courses are on a cliff over the Pacific, the conditions have a lot to do how the scoring goes. In looking at the long-range weather forecast for the week, wind won’t play a factor, but it won’t be a great weather week in San Diego as it will be cloudy each day with showers on Friday and Sunday so that the course will play a lot easier.

In looking at the stats for Torry South last year, driving is essential. In windy, dry conditions in 2016, the course ranked 30th in driving distance and 14th in driving accuracy. Last year it ranked 11th in driving distance and 8th in driving accuracy. More important than that, rough proximity is vital. That is because the greens were the 2nd hardest to hit in 2016 and 6th last year so those out of the rough had a tough time getting it close to the hole. Last year the average shot from off the fairway was 33 feet and 3 inches compared to 50 feet, 2 inches from the rough. So you can see that driving the ball is very important in this tournament and with possible rain this week the rough will be even harder, so our first category is Strokes Gained off the tee. This makes sense, last year’s winner Jon Rahm was 1st in this stat along with being 1st in Strokes Gained tee-to-green.
Our second category is Proximity to Hole because hitting greens is important, last year the course ranked 33rd in that stat and was T-8th in Proximity to the hole as the average was 38 feet, 9 inches. In looking at these stats, winner Rahm was T-12th in greens in regulations but was 3rd in Proximity to Hole.
Our third category is putting inside 10 feet. Several factors have made Torrey Pines the hardest greens to make putts inside 10 feet for the second year in a row. The main reason that this stat is so extreme is the fact that the greens are Poa Annua and since it’s close to the ocean, the greens are hard to judge and tend to get bumpy, especially late in the afternoon. Last year Rahm ranked 8th in this stat as he made 49 of 54 tries for the week, so it’s important for players to make those putts.
Our last category is scrambling manly because of its history lot’s of greens are missed, and Torrey is very tough to get it up and down. Last year it was the 5th hardest, the year before it was 2nd and over the course of the previous six years, the course has been in the top-ten in this stat every year. As for winner Rahm, he was 14th in this stat as of the 19 greens he missed he got up and down 13 times which was very important in his victory.

So here are our four choices for the most critical stats from players to do well at Torrey Pines South:

*Strokes gained off-the-tee: It’s a combination of hitting it straight and hitting it far. Since Torrey is so long, you have to hit driver off of most tees. But the fairways are narrow, and the rough is hard if you get into it.

*Proximity to Hole: Important because hitting greens on the South Course is hard, getting it close to the hole from the fairway is an important number.

*Putting inside 10 feet: This gauges how many putts a player makes inside ten feet. With Torrey having Poa Annua greens making all of these putts is essential and a challenge for players.

*Scrambling: The South Course is hard in this stat, only Quail Hollow for the PGA, Muirfield Village for the Memorial, Augusta National for the Masters and TPC Sawgrass for the Players had worst scrambling stats as only 51.65% of the time were players able to get it up and down in 2017.

143 of the 156 Players from this year’s field with stats from this year:

Click any column title in the table header to sort columns.

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