The Watch List: Three to watch going into the Farmers Insurance Open

Hudson Swafford may still be celebrating his fantastic come from behind win at The American Express, but for the rest of us, attention has already been turned toward the upcoming 2022 Farmers Insurance Open and the fantastic field of players that are set to take part this week.

The Farmers Insurance Open will once again take place at the magnificent Torrey Pines but this year the tournament begins on Wednesday, one day earlier than it had traditionally been held. The change was made as to not conflict with the NFL’s conference championship games this weekend, so by the time Sunday rolls around the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open champion will already have been crowned with the final round scheduled to take place on Saturday beforehand.

There will be plenty of conversation in the build-up to Wednesday but here is an early glance at some players to keep an eye on moving forward, a watch list of sorts.

Three to put on the Watch List heading into the Farmers Insurance Open

Tony Finau

Jon Rahm may be the only golfer on Tour that loves his visits to Torrey Pines each year more than Tony Finau. Tony has been terrific at the Farmers over the years, in fact, the worst finish he has had in his last seven appearances here is 24th.

The 2021 winner of The Northern Trust may have had a mediocre week this past week at The American Express where he finished 40th, but he was excellent during his final two rounds despite the slow start. Finau fired an eight-under-par on the more difficult Stadium Course across his final two rounds and he gained over four strokes with his ball-striking in those two measured rounds.

Finau has won the heart of golf fans around the world and he may be peaking at the right moment coming into this week’s Farmers Insurance Open. He will be a trendy pick to win this week and he is certainly the first candidate for this week’s watch list.

Max Homa

Max Homa pulled off one of the more surprising wins in 2021 when he took down The Genesis Invitational last season amongst an elite field. Turn the page to the 2021-22 PGA season and Homa has already secured another PGA victory after he picked up the win at the Fortinet Championship last September.

It would be fair to say that the California native has become one of the better players on the PGA Tour at the moment and he is someone who should always be looked at especially when the PGA visits the West Coast each season.

Homa has finished 18th and 9th at the Farmers in his last two appearances and he has generally played some of his best golf in his home state. All of this makes him a prime candidate for the watch list this week, especially after he opened 2022 with a 15th place finish at the Sentry Tournament Of Champions.

Ryan Palmer

Add Ryan Palmer to that list with Jon Rahm and Tony Finau of players that love making the trip to Torrey each year. The Texan has twice finished runner-up at this event in the last four years and he has made the cut in each of his last four appearances here.

Palmer had three top 10 finishes in 2021 with his lone top 5 finish coming at Torrey Pines, and even though he has not won since 2010 he certainly seems to enjoy his time at this event. After starting this year with a 12th place finish at the Sony Open in his last start he could be about to make another move this week at the Farmers.