As we travel to the storied Torrey Pines Golf Course for the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open, the PGA Tour season picks up this week in what many consider the true start of the season. Since it attracts notable players and presents a challenging test, which golf fans have been anticipating after three weeks of low-scoring competitions, many casual golf fans will also be tuning in this week for the first time in 2023.
For the second straight year, the competition will be held from Wednesday through Saturday so that golf fans can enjoy the NFL Conference Championship games that dominate Sunday’s sports calendar.
As usual, this event will feature three rounds on the South Course and one on the North Course, with the more difficult South Course stealing much of the attention.
2023 Farmers Insurance Open Best Bets
(Odds Courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Previous Winners of the Farmers Insurance Open
- 2022: Luke List
- 2021: Patrick Reed
- 2020: Marc Leishman
Course Preview: Torrey Pines Golf Course
North of San Diego, on coastal cliffs with breathtaking vistas of the Pacific, is where Torrey Pines is located. In addition to making the South Course competitive for the 2008 U.S. Open (Tiger Woods’ victory), renovations to the course in the early 2000s also brought some coastal canyons into play for regular play, particularly on the par-3 third and par-4 14th.
Long fairways, dense rough and perplexing Poa greens will be found on the South Course, which is more challenging. Getting a little out of line might lead to compounding errors. As always, it will take a complete player’s game to win.
Relevant Betting Stats
- Driving Distance
- Putting: Poa
- SG: Approach
Outright Betting Pick: Maverick McNealy (+4000)
Arguably the best golfer in this field without a win on the PGA Tour, the 27-year-old Maverick McNealy is well overdue for his first win in the big leagues. Reaching as high as No. 38 in the FedEx Cup ranks last season, McNealy had his best season, including four top-10 finishes down the stretch.
Coming into this week, McNealy has finished top 10 or better in six of his past seven events, with his T7 at the Sony Open (his last event) the highest result of the season. Looking closer, McNealy has now shot 69 or better in nine of his last 11 rounds.
Additionally, in his four starts here at Torrey, McNealy has made the cut in three, with all three finding himself in the top 30 of this always-stacked field. Flying under the radar in a stacked field, I think McNealy finds some success here.
Credit given to bettingpros.com: https://www.bettingpros.com/articles/2023-farmers-insurance-open-preview-predictions-best-bet/
