The Tiger Woods Factor
I don’t write many blogs about PGA tour events. In this case I will make an exception though. Tiger Woods will be playing his first full field event, and it won’t be at some Player friendly course in the Bahamas. This is the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. A course that’s held the U.S. Open. It won’t have the strongest field, but there will be plenty of talent on display.
The field includes:
-PGA tour Champion Xander Schauffele
-The Players Champion Si Woo Kim
-Last year’s winner and currently world number 2 Jon Rahm
-Other Top 10 World ranking players in the field including Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, and Justin Rose.
As well as many other notable PGA tour mainstays.
What’s required from Woods
Winning this event will require some great skill off the Tee because it’s a long course. It will also require some impressive Ball striking because you don’t want to be in the long grass at Torrey Pines.
Of course the first thing everyone wants to know is how well will Tiger do? Well I actually have two answers for that question. Sounds like I’m hedging my bets but really I’m not, and here’s why. I believe that if Tiger Woods treats this event as just a stepping stone towards readying himself for future events then he will make the cut, and play some attractive golf. Now if he enters this event with the desire to finish in the Top 10. I don’t think things will go as smoothly for him. Torrey Pines will punish Players who miss Fairways, or Greens when trying to push the limits in order to stay close to the leaders. Tiger has shown that his scrambling is particularly weak, and his misses off the Tee are unpredictable. If he just focuses on playing clean mistake free golf he’ll find himself in the middle of the pack, but if he pushes it he could potentially put up a number of double or even triple bogeys, and miss the cut.
Players to watch
There are a few Players of particular interest to me at this event. Five of which I have already discussed in my Cobe Life 2018 Farmers Insurance Open Quick picks on YouTube. Those five Players should be of particular interest to the FanDuel and DraftKings crowd.
https://youtu.be/XKiTWrpua_A
The next group of Players are interesting to me for different reasons.
JASON DAY
Former World #1 Jason Day had a down year last year. Health and Family issues contributed to an uncommon lack of focus for Jason Day in 2017. There is no disputing his talent, and Torrey Pines is the perfect course to gauge where his game is at.
BRANDT SNEDEKER
Another Player coming back from injury with the additional pressure of trying to make a return to the Masters. Snedeker wouldn’t appear to have the kind of game that Torrey Pines requires, but he has won here twice before. While everyone else is trying to bomb drives off the Tee. Sneds will methodically work his way around the course. If his Putter is on watch out!
CHESSON HADLEY
The 2017 Web.com tour Champion will have the opportunity to showcase his potential in this high quality field. The Web.com tour has proven to be an excellent preparatory tour for the PGA with past Champions, and qualifiers finding early success when playing on the PGA tour. I would expect Chesson Hadley to really make a strong showing at Torrey Pines.
ADAM HADWIN
I’m going to be watching Adam Hadwin at every event he enters this year for as long as he remains competitive. Last year his 59 at the CareerBuilder Challenge kick-started what would become an excellent Season. Last week his T3 at this year’s CareerBuilder Challenge had that same feeling. If so, you should expect a number of high finishes to come Hadwin’s way.
ALEXANDER NOREN
Most people are still wondering if there should have been a Presidents Cup tournament last year. The talent was so lopsided in the Americans favour the outcome was practically predetermined. There’s already talk of how will the Europeans at this year’s Ryder Cup compete? Look I think the Americans have the advantage, but don’t think for a second that they will win it easily. Players that aren’t that well known on this side of the pond like Noren will put up a considerable fight. If you would like to get a sneak peek of what’s to come. Watch what Noren is capable of at Torrey Pines. While you are at it check out Francesco Molinari as well.
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