Fantasy Golf: Lineup tips for the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open

The PGA Tour shifts to Torrey Pines this week for a Wednesday start at the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open. It’s a quick turnaround this week for both players and fans alike and with the Wednesday start, it means those PGA Fantasy lineups have to be in a day earlier than normal.

It’s another week of multiple courses for the 156 man field heading out to the Farmers Insurance Open this week. Torrey Pines (North) will be played once by each competitor on either Wednesday or Thursday, while the South Course at Torrey Pines will host the remaining three rounds of action.

The field will be keen to rack up birdies on the easier North Course before tackling the challenge that is the 7,700 yard plus South Course. This week will play much different to the birdie-fest that was seen at the American Express with winning scores at the Farmers Insurance Open typically averaging out around 10 to 15 under par.

This will be a fun week to play one or two fantasy lineups with some of the biggest names in golf heading out to La Jolla, California, for this year’s Farmers.

This article highlights potential options for fantasy or daily-fantasy lineups, it’s important to note however that this is not necessarily for any specific format or platform.

Hideki Matsuyama

It’s crazy to think that a guy who just won out in Hawaii two weeks ago could go overlooked coming into this week, but with names such as Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, and Xander Schauffele also in the field, that may be exactly what happens.

The fact that Hideki also hasn’t had a top ten finish at the Farmers Insurance Open since 2019 could lead to him being a nice differential pick in lineups this week. The 2021 Masters champion has two wins and a top 15 finish in his last three starts, he also picked up a 6th place finish in his last visit to California at the Fortinet Championship in September.

Even though Matsuyama hasn’t been great during his last couple of trips to Torrey Pines there is a real argument to be made that he is playing the best golf of his career at the moment. I won’t be overlooking the Japanese phenom this week, instead, I’ll roll out the player who is arguably playing better than anyone right now in my fantasy lineups.

Maverick McNealy

I’m expecting big things from Maverick in 2022 and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him win during the next few weeks in California. The 26-year-old began 2022 with a solid T-27th place finish at the Sony Open a couple of weeks ago, a finish that doesn’t paint the complete picture of how well he actually played. Maverick fired off a 65,67 during his first two rounds to put him at eight-under-par at the halfway point.

His tournament really unraveled during the third round when he failed to improve upon that mark and instead had to settle for an even-par round of 70. McNealy gained over four strokes tee to green for the week and was really let down by his short game in Hawaii, an aspect of his game that he normally excels in.

Still, you have to go back to the Shriners last year to find his last missed-cut, and perhaps even that can be forgiven as he was coming off of a 2nd place finish the week before at the aforementioned Fortinet Championship. McNealy rates as one of the best putters in this week’s field on poa greens, so he has every chance to improve his performance with the short game at the Farmers this week.

Maverick missed the cut at Torrey Pines last year but he did record a 15th place finish here in 2020 and he seems to be putting up some solid results especially in the state of California. He is certainly capable of a top 10 finish this week and he may even notch that elusive first PGA win this week, regardless, he is an excellent option for fantasy teams this week.

Luke List

Luke List began the 2022 year with another quality finish at last week’s American Express where he was 22nd. Add that to the 10th and 11th place finishes he had in the two starts previous and it looks like we may have something with List this week.

Luke crushes the ball and perhaps this is the reason he has had some nice results around Torrey Pines in the past. He was 10th here last year and 12th back in 2018, he has actually made the cut in four consecutive appearances at the Farmers Insurance Open. The putter is the main issue for Luke as has always been the case, but the numbers show he is marginally better on poa greens so perhaps he can avoid a disaster in that department this week.

If List can manage the flat-stick he could be set up for a nice week after gaining over two strokes tee to green in his two recorded rounds last week at the American Express. The overall game for the 37-year-old looks to be clicking on all cylinders and he may well be a sneaky fantasy option this week.

Other names to consider for fantasy lineups at the Farmers Insurance Open: Sam Burns, Talor Gooch, Max Homa, Ryan Palmer, Francesco Molinari, Harry Higgs