No tournament will be impacted more by the lack of fans than the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The atmosphere around the par-3 16th hole in non-COVID-19 years is unlike anything in the sport. This is the most attended tournament year in and year out, but in 2021 it will be limited to just 5,000 spectators per day. Bettors from several states can now open an account with Fanduel! The Sportsbook is available in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and West Virginia. In Here’s a quick procedure of how you can register at the FanDuel sportsbook: Hit any of the links in this review and to be redirected to FanDuel’s main site.
Welcome to the $1000 Risk Free Bet promotion (the “Promotion”), where participants who place their first real money wager will receive a site credit available for use only on the FanDuel Sportsbook product (“Sportsbook Site Credit”) equal to the amount of that wager, up to One Thousand Dollars ($1000), if that wager loses. This article is part of our FanDuel PGA series. Sony Open in Hawaii. Course: Waialae Country Club (7,044 yards, par 70) Purse: $6,600,000 Winner: $1,188,000 and 500 FedExCup points. Tournament Preview. Waialae and Kapalua might both be located on the islands of Hawaii, but the two courses could not be more different. FanDuel - Sports betting.
This article is part of our FanDuel PGA series.
Farmers Insurance Open
Courses: Torrey Pines South (7,765 yards, par 72) [Host Course], Torrey Pines North (7,258 yards, par 72)
Purse: $7,500,000
Winner: $1,350,000 and 500 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
Torrey Pines South is routinely one of the toughest challenges that players will face all season. For starters, it's REALLY long. Torrey Pines South can stretch to nearly 7,800 yards and the marine layers that are common for the area can make that number play much longer. The rough is also some of the deepest and most penal we see outside of a major. Speaking of majors, the best in the world will be returning to Torrey Pines in June for the U.S. Open, marking the first time the course has hosted our National Championship since Tiger Woods' dramatic playoff win over Rocco Mediate in 2008. Woods would typically start his year at this event, but back surgery back in December will keep him out for the next couple months. A recent theme at the Farmers Insurance Open has been international winners, with Marc Leishman, Justin Rose, Jon Rahm, and Jason Day (twice) all winning in the last six years. Prior to 2015, Jose Maria Olazabal was the only international winner of this event since 1964. Rory McIlroy will be making the trip over from Abu Dhabi after finishing solo third there last week. All together 13 of the top 25 in the OWGR are expected to tee it up this week in San Diego. The field of 156 will get a crack at the easier Torrey Pines North in either the first or second round before a traditional 36-hole cut is made and the field transitions to the South course exclusively. The weather is looking dicey, with rains expected to hit on both Thursday and Friday. The winds are also expected to present a challenge and temperatures will struggle to crack 60 degrees throughout the week.
Recent Champions
2020 – Marc Leishman
2019 – Justin Rose
2018 – Jason Day
2017 – Jon Rahm
2016 – Brandt Snedeker
2015 – Jason Day
2014 – Scott Stallings
2013 – Tiger Woods
2012 – Brandt Snedeker
2011 – Bubba Watson
2010 – Ben Crane
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach
- GIR Percentage
- SG: Off-the-Tee
- Scrambling
Champion's Profile
You can't really have a poor driving week and expect to contend at Torrey Pines. With how long the South course will play, the bombers will have a major advantage, especially considering the fact that the fairways are very hard to find in general. The next challenge is controlling shots into greens with different elevations. The GIR percentage may be slightly up this week with the expected rainfall that should soften the course up and allow certain shots to hold that might otherwise kick over the green. Scrambling will also be a big factor in deciding who wins. There are not a whole lot of scoring chances on the South course, so making key up-and-downs will be huge in preserving your place on the leaderboard. A lot of missed GIR's will end up in bunkers or long rough right off the edge of the green. On tricky poa annua greens like these, everyone is going to miss their fair share of short putts. I think that allows you to leave some of the putting stats on the back burner and focus a lot more on ball strikers that can get it out there.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Rory McIlroy ($12,200)
Not many have been better early in the season in recent years than McIlroy. The Northern Irishman is coming off a solo third place finish in Abu Dhabi last week, where McIlroy admitted he didn't even play that well. Now that he has the rust knocked off, imagine if he actually plays well by his standards at Torrey Pines. McIlroy has gone T5-T3 the last two years in this event. His driving ability makes him a near perfect fit for this course.
Jon Rahm ($12,100)
Speaking about perfect fits for Torrey Pines, Rahm certainly fits that bill. This season he ranks sixth in SG: Off-the-Tee and fifth in SG: Tee-to-Green. Rahm just has a knack for playing well on difficult golf courses and you could make the case that no player has as few holes through the bag as the 26-year-old. He broke through for his first PGA Tour win here at Torrey Pines in 2017 and has added a T5 in 2019 and a runner-up last year.
Tony Finau ($11,300)
Another bomber that plays well at difficult courses, Finau will be looking for redemption once again this week after letting his long-awaited second PGA Tour victory slip away last Sunday. Finau has had a pretty pedestrian start to the season compared to recent years, but he has still gone 7-for-7 with four top-11 finishes. He also currently ranks top-30 in SG: Off-the-tee, SG: Approach, SG: Tee-to-Green, birdie average, and scoring average. Finau hasn't finished outside the top 25 in six career starts at Torrey Pines, and he owns a trio of top-6 results.
Marc Leishman ($10,400)
Leishman came from behind last year and put together a seven-under 65 in the final round to notch his fifth career PGA Tour win. It was one of the better Sunday performances of the 2019-20 season. Torrey Pines is a place where the Aussie has always played well, with five career top-10s, including a trio of top-two results. Leishman is coming off top-25s in three of his last four starts, including a T4 at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Longer Shots with Value
Cameron Davis ($9,800)
This Aussie does things a different way than Leishman. Davis is one of the longest hitters on Tour that most people don't know about. This season he ranks 10th in driving distance and 16th in SG: Off-the-Tee. Davis is also 10th in birdie average and 40th in putting average. The 25-year-old is coming off a strong performance at PGA West last week, finishing solo third.
Ryan Palmer ($9,600)
Palmer is another great driver of the ball who is off to a very solid start to the season. He has only missed one cut in six starts and has a pair of top-four finishes, including the solo fourth he posted in Kapalua a couple weeks ago. Palmer ranks 37th in SG: Tee-to-Green, 31st in SG: Total, 19th in GIR percentage, and second birdie average this season. The Texan has gone 2nd-T13-T21 the last three years at Torrey pines.
Charles Howell III ($9,100)
If you want a guy that knows how to play Torrey Pines on your roster, then Howell is your man. He's made 17 starts in this event and never missed a cut. The veteran also has eight top-10s and 12 top-25s in the Farmers Insurance Open. Howell is 11th in SG: Putting and 25th in scrambling percentage this season. He is also still in the top 25 percent on Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee and is hitting nearly 71 percent of his GIR's.
Emiliano Grillo ($9,000)
After spending a couple weeks closer to the $10,000 mark, Grillo is now down to $9,000, and he presents good value at a real ball-striker's course. The 28-year-old currently ranks 30th in SG: Off-the-Tee, 30th in SG: Approach, seventh in GIR percentage, and 10th in proximity to the hole. He is also 37th in scrambling and 28th in scoring average. Grillo has only missed one cut in 10 starts this season and finished T12 at Torrey Pines back in 2018.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
This week there are two clear favorites that are reflected in the salaries with Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, who are $500 ahead of the next closest player. Taking one of them would be a good way to start, but if not I think players like Tony Finau, Harris English, and Hideki Matsuyama are other good options in that upper tier that are playing well and have had success at Torrey Pines. As I said earlier, I think this week you are going to want to take guys that can really get it out there. This is the longest course that we regularly visit on Tour, and the cooler temperatures combined with it's closeness to the ocean will make it play that much longer. The rough has also been brought in to prepare for the U.S. Open later this year, so everyone is going to miss fairways. There will be a lot of scrambling, but a good driving week will make your job so much easier. Other players not included above that I think could be in for a good showing at Torrey Pines are Matthew Wolff, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, and Corey Conners.
This article is part of our FanDuel PGA series.
Sony Open in Hawaii
Us Open Fanduel
Course: Waialae Country Club (7,044 yards, par 70)
Purse: $6,600,000
Winner: $1,188,000 and 500 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
Waialae and Kapalua might both be located on the islands of Hawaii, but the two courses could not be more different. We go from some of the widest fairways, biggest greens, and giant elevation changes of Kapalua to small greens, narrow fairways, and an extremely flat course in Waialae. Many players will be making their first start of 2020 with this being the first full-field event of the year. 30 of the 42 players that teed it up last week at the Tournament of Champions will be making the short trip over to Waialae. That includes Harris English, who picked up his first win since 2013 at the Plantation Course last week. All together nine of the top-25 in the OWGR will be teeing it up at one of the most historic courses on the PGA Tour schedule. Cameron Smith is playing some of the best golf of his career and he will be hoping to defend his title after taking down Brendan Steele in a playoff last year. Temperatures should be sustained in the low-80's with chances of passing storms throughout the week to soften the golf course. The winds are not expected to be anywhere close to what they were last year and we should see a winning score much closer to 20-under-par.
Recent Champions
2020 – Cameron Smith
2019 – Matt Kuchar
2018 – Patton Kizzire
2017 – Justin Thomas
2016 – Fabian Gomez
2015 – Jimmy Walker
2014 – Jimmy Walker
2013 – Russell Henley
2012 – Johnson Wagner
2011 – Mark Wilson
2010 – Ryan Palmer
Us Open Fanduel Lineup
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach
- GIR Percentage
- SG: Putting
- SG: Off-the-Tee
Champion's Profile
If you look at the list of past winners at Waialae, you'll notice that you don't see a lot of bombers. That's because you can't really overpower this course and it will be much more about accuracy off the tees to put yourself at a good angle to attack these small greens. Overall iron and wedge performance will likely be the most important factor once again this week to determine the champion. The bermuda greens will run extremely pure, so if you're rolling it well you can rack up a lot of one-putts. There are only two par-5's at Waialae (No. 9 and 18), but both of them play as some of the easiest par-5's on the PGA Tour so they need to be taken advantage of. Whoever is controlling their distances and rolling the rock the best is typically the man that will prevail at Waialae.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Webb Simpson ($12,000)
It's almost hard to believe that Simpson has not won at Waialae yet considering how well his game fits this course. He's not the longest hitter obviously, but he is deadly accurate and can shape the ball both ways with ease off the tee. Simpson is also a tremendous iron player and putter, as evidence by ranking inside the top-15 in both SG: Approach and SG: Putting last season. The Wake Forest product hasn't finished outside the top-20 in any of his last six starts in this event, including a T4 in 2018 and T3 in 2020.
Sungjae Im ($11,200)
Im had a very nonchalant week in Kapalua that ended up seeing him finish T5 in his first trip around the course. He also led the field in SG: Tee-to-Green. Im's game is very versatile, but if he's striking the ball like that at Waialae it would be hard to see him not holding the trophy at the end of the week. He's gone T16-T21 in two career starts at the Sony Open.
Us Open Fanduel
Joaquin Niemann ($10,900)
Niemann came so close to picking up his second PGA Tour win last week at Kapalua, but ultimately fell on the first playoff hole to Harris English. Even at 22 years old, you can see the super star potential in Niemann. All he has done this season is post six top-25's in seven starts. The Chilean ranks ninth in SG: Total, fourth in birdie average, and 10th in scoring average.
Russell Henley ($10,400)
Henley provides one of the better values in this field. He's off to a great start this season, making five-of-six cuts and adding a pair of top-five finishes. The Georgia product's ball striking numbers have also been very impressive once again, as he currently sits seventh in SG: Approach, sixth in SG: Tee-to-Green, seventh in driving accuracy, and 17th in GIR percentage. Those type of numbers of prime for success at Waialae, which is likely a big part of the reason why he is a former winner there.
Longer Shots with Value
Emiliano Grillo ($9,800)
Grillo has been one of the best iron players on Tour over the last few seasons. That has been something that has carried over early in the 2020-21 campaign, as he ranks 14th in SG: Approach, sixth in GIR percentage, and 13th in proximity to the hole. The putter will always be a question with Grillo, but that consistently strong ball striking makes his floor so high. He finished out 2020 going T18-T8 and has finished top-25 in each of the last two editions of the Sony Open.
Charles Howell III ($9,700)
Someone you always have to keep an eye out for early in the calendar year is Howell, because he has strong track records at so many of these West coast courses. He may be at his best at Waialae, as he has made every cut in all 19 of his starts and has notched 13 top-15 finishes. Howell's ball striking is not up to his usual elite standards early this season, but he is currently sitting 13th in SG: Putting. Trust the experience here.
Brandt Snedeker ($8,800)
Us Open Fanduel
It certainly wasn't the fall that the nine-time PGA Tour winner was looking for, but Snedeker is another player that has great records on a lot of these early season courses. He has finished top-20 in three of his last four starts at the Sony Open, including a runner-up back in 2016. I'm betting on experience again here and a putting stroke that has the ability to fill it up anywhere.
James Hahn ($8,700)
Hahn has already racked up three top-10's in just five starts this season, which is more than he has had in the past three seasons combined. His ball striking has been the biggest key, as he ranks fourth in driving accuracy and sixth in GIR percentage. Hahn is also in the top fourth of the Tour in SG: Putting. The 39-year-old has gone 6-for-8 at Waialae, including a runner-up in 2018.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
Waialae is typically a place where experience matters, so veterans that have played well here in the past is what I would be looking to round out my rosters with. On the top end, however, a majority of the attractive options are younger players that are striking the ball incredibly well like Sungjae Im and Joaquin Niemann. With the depth of the field top to bottom not as strong as last week, I think it puts the onus on DFS players to be a little more strategic in making sure they don't spend all their money on the top end because you don't want to be going down the board too far this week. As I said earlier as well, distance will not be a factor this week so consistent iron players or strong putters is what you are looking for.