Farmers Insurance Open Key Fantasy Stats

Farmers Insurance Open

January 24th – 27th, 2024

Torrey Pines South Course

San Diego, CA

Par: 72 / Yardage: 7,765

Purse: $9 million

with $1,620,000 to the winner

Defending Champion:
Max Homa

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 year’s Farmers Insurance Open, and using data from all the players in the field for stats from 2023.
The event is played on two courses, so the data are only for the rounds played on the South Course, not the one-round data from the North Course.
The scoring average of the Torrey South Course field last year was 73.62, and it was the 4th hardest course on the PGA Tour and the hardest non-major course out of the 58 courses charted in 2023.

Here is a look at the scoring average at Torrey South Course for the last few years:
*2022 – Average was 72.35, was the 15th hardest of the 50 courses that year
*2021 – Average was 73.34, it was the 4th hardest of the 51 courses that year
*2021 – The course also held the U.S. Open that year and the average score was 73.45 making it the 2nd hardest course of the year
*2020 – Average was 72.53, was 7th hardest of 41 courses that year
*2019 – Average was 71.73, was 18th hardest of 49 courses that year

In 2019 it was the first time that the South Course played under par since 2001, when it played to an average of 71.82. Days after that event, bulldozers came in, and the course was completely renovated for the 2008 U.S. Open by Rees Jones. So why did the course play so easily in 2019? The weather couldn’t be better, warm all four days with wind under 10 mph each day. With that, Justin Rose shot 21 under par, the lowest winning score since Tiger Woods shot 22 under in 1999. Of course, the wind is always a factor, in 2018, with low temperatures the first three days and winds gusting up to 25 mph, the scoring average was 72.81, the 8th hardest course for the year. In 2017 it was windy each day, and the average 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. That year, they had high winds so severe that they had to finish the round on Monday, which is why the change happened.
72.956 has been the South Course average since 2016, but the overall tournament average has been 72.143. That’s because one round is played on the North Course, which has been a layup in past years, but the course had some changes done to it. The scoring average of the Torrey North Course field last year was 71.45, and it was the 5th hardest course on the PGA Tour out of the 58 courses charted in 2023.

Here is a look at the scoring average at Torrey North Course for the last few years:
*2022 – Average was 68.77, was the 48th hardest of the 50 courses that year
*2021 – Average was 70.13, it was the 44th hardest of the 51 courses that year
*2020 – Average was 70.57, was 33rd hardest of 41 courses that year
*2019 – Average was 69.84, was 45th hardest of 49 courses that year

So why did 2022 play so easily? Weather that year, the temperatures went from 65 to a high of 70 on Saturday. With both courses on the Pacific, wind plays a key role, and all four days saw the wind blowing between 6 to 12 mph, very mild conditions.
Our course key is based on the South Course, which underwent another renovation before the 2020 event to prepare for the 2021 U.S. Open. There have been numerous subtle changes on the South Course, but the most striking alterations were made to the 4th, 9th, 10th, 15th, and 17th holes. Tees were moved to make driving harder in the fairway, and new bunkers were added to make players think more about a shot.
Still, with the course lying on a bluff over the Pacific Ocean, mother nature always plays its part with possible fog this time of year, rain, and wind. For this year, despite the area getting over 5 inches of rain in the last month, and for this week, the weather is going to be very unlike San Diego weather. Temperatures will be very mild on Thursday. It will only get up to 60 degrees on Friday, 64, with it getting as high as 68 over the weekend. Each day will have cloudy weather but the great news for the players is very little wind. Friday will be the highest at 10 mph, as the other days it will be in the 7 to 9 mph which is very low for the Farmers. So look for low scores again.

Driving is essential in looking at Torrey South’s stats last year. The course ranked 29th on the PGA Tour in driving distance and 7th in driving accuracy. Winner Max Homa ranked 55th in driving distance and T-9th in driving accuracy

Here is a look at the driving average at Torrey South for the last few years:
*2022 – Torrey South ranked 31st in driving distance and 9th in driving accuracy.
Winner Luke List was 12th in driving distance and T-44th (29 of 54) in accuracy.
*2021 –Torrey South ranked 25th in driving distance and 7th in driving accuracy.
Winner Patrick Reed was T-52nd in driving distance and T-9th (36 of 54) in accuracy.
*2020 – Torrey South ranked T-17th in driving distance and 8th in driving accuracy.
Winner Marc Leishman was T-34th in driving distance and T-58th (27 of 54) in accuracy.
*2019 – Torrey South ranked 32nd in driving distance and 1st in driving accuracy.
Winner Justin Rose was 11th in driving distance and T-8th (35 of 54) in accuracy.
So driving it far and straight is important.

Another vital stat is greens in regulation which translates to Strokes gained Tee-to-Green
Last year the field hit an average of 59.12% of the greens and ranked 10th. Hitting greens is very important, and as we can see, only about 6 in 10 greens are hit, compared to the Plantation Course at Kapalua, in which 82.03% are hit. So this is important in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green, which is one of our top stats to look for. Last year’s winner, Max Homa, ranked T-3rd in Greens in Regulation, hitting 53 of 72 greens as he finished 1st for the week in Strokes Gaine Tee-to-Green, gaining 3.5 per round.

Here is a look at the Greens in Regulation at Torrey South and how it corresponds to the winners in the last few years:
*2022 – Torrey South ranked T-16th in Greens in Regulation. Winner Luke List was T-11th in Greens in Regulation, hitting 53 of 72 greens, and was 5th in Strokes Gained Tee to Green, picking up 2.48 shots per round.
*2021 –Torrey South ranked 13th in Greens in Regulation. Winner Patrick Reed was T-63rd in Greens in Regulation, hitting 44 of 72 greens, and was 12th in Strokes Gained Tee to Green, picking up 1.93 shots per round.
*2020 – Torrey South ranked 13th in Greens in Regulation. Winner Marc Leishman was T-14th in Greens in Regulation, hitting 52 of 72 greens, and was 16th in Strokes Gained Tee to Green, picking up 1.14 shots per round.
*2019 – Torrey South ranked 21st in Greens in Regulation. Winner Justin Rose was T-2nd in Greens in Regulation, hitting 56 of 72 greens, and was 7th in Strokes Gained Tee to Green, picking up 1.77 shots per round.

Our third category is putting inside 10 feet. The Poa Annua greens have the reputation as some of the hardest greens on tour to putt. Poa is a weed that makes the greens hard to putt, especially in the late afternoon and with a lot of people walking on them. So it’s very challenging to make putts under ten feet. Last year, Torrey South’s greens were the hardest course on tour in making putts inside ten feet in, as only 84.62% of those putts were made. In comparison the Seaside course at Sea Island Resort in the RSM Classic saw the most putts inside of ten feet made with 89.59%. For the winner, Max Homa, he ranked 28th in putting inside ten feet, making 43 of 49 tries inside ten feet (87.76%).

Here is a look at the Putting Inside Ten Feet at Torrey South and how it corresponds for the winners in the last few years:
*2022 – Torrey South ranked 2nd in Putting inside Ten Feet with (85.98%) of the putts made.
Winner Luke List was 59th in Putting inside Ten Feet with 43 of 51 (84.31%) of the putts made.
*2021 – Torrey South ranked 2nd in Putting inside Ten Feet with (83.95%) of the putts made.
Winner Patrick Reed was 7th in Putting inside Ten Feet with 47 of 52 (90.381%) of the putts made.
*2020 – Torrey South ranked 2nd in Putting inside Ten Feet with (84.66%) of the putts made.
Winner Marc Leishman was 28th in Putting inside Ten Feet with 44 of 51 (86.27%) of the putts made.
2019 – Torrey South ranked 4th in Putting inside Ten Feet with (86.00%) of the putts made.
Winner Justin Rose was T-39th in Putting inside Ten Feet with 46 of 53 (86.79%) of the putts made.
In 2018, Jason Day shined in this stat, ranking 1st in the field, making 49 of 51 tries for the week.

Our last category is scrambling mainly because of its history, where lots of greens are missed, and Torrey is adamant about getting it up and down. Last year it ranked 3rd hardest, with players getting it up and down on greens missing 50.41% of the time

Here is a look at the Putting Inside Ten Feet at Torrey South and how it corresponds for the winners in the last few years:
*2022 – Torrey South ranked 18th in scrambling as players got it up and down (57.17%) of the time.
Winner Luke List was T-6th in Scrambling as he was able to get it up and down 78.95% of the 19 greens he missed.
*2021 – Torrey South ranked 5th in scrambling as players got it up and down (51.99%) of the time.
Winner Patrick Reed was 5th in Scrambling as he was able to get it up and down 81.25% of the 28 greens he missed.
*2020 – Torrey South ranked 4th in scrambling as players got it up and down (54.00%) of the time.
Winner Marc Leishman was T-4th in Scrambling as he was able to get it up and down 75.00% of the 20 greens he missed.
*2019 – Torrey South ranked 15th in scrambling as players got it up and down (57.05%) of the time.
Winner Justin Rose was 58th in Scrambling as he was able to get it up and down 56.25% of the 16 greens he missed.

Both courses at Torrey Pines are very unique and offer a different challenge to the pros. The combination of being on the Pacific Ocean, along with greens that are not only hard to hit but hard to putt, make up the charm for the course. On top of that, weather that in most cases is perfect and the scenic nature of the course are some of the reasons players love to play in this event.

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

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

*Strokes Gained Approach-the-Green: It’s a combination of hitting the green from either the fairway or the rough.

*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; before 2018, it was historically very high in this stat as it was in the top ten on tour between 2011 and 2017. But in 2018 it ranked 19th, in 2019 it was 15th, in 2020 it was 4th, in 2021 it ranked 5th hardest on tour. Last year it ranked 18th on the PGA Tour.

97 of the 156 players from this year’s field with stats from last year:

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