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Good vibes and a bit of inspiration can go a long way.

In just his second start since his father passed away, Hudson Swafford arrived at the site of his first PGA Tour win. In 2017, Swafford tamed PGA West at the CareerBuilder Challenge, just as he did last week for The American Express. He shot a back-nine 31 for his third win on Tour.

The picks were slightly better this week, but still no results. Matthew Wolff, the pre-tournament darling, missed the cut and both favorite Tony Finau and sleeper Adam Hadwin were just short on finding the top 20.

We now head to the California shore and Torrey Pines. The Farmers Insurance Open will be held here once again, along with many of the world’s best players. If we remember correctly, Patrick Reed comes in as defending champion but also as a villain because of the controversy over a questionable free-drop last year. Another note is this tournament starts Wednesday and finishes Saturday.

According to SI Sportsbook, world No. 1 and current U.S. Open champion (held at Torrey Pines) Jon Rahm is the favorite at +700. To follow is world No. 6 Justin Thomas at +1200. Next up is San Diego native Xander Schauffele at +1600. To close out the notables are recent Sony Open champion Hideki Matsuyama, world No. 4 Dustin Johnson and world No. 9 Bryson DeChambeau at +1800.

For our favorite, we’re going with the hot hand in Hideki Matsuyama at +1800. The reigning Masters champion now has two wins on the current season and has never been more confident in his career. Matsuyama gained a whopping seven shots on the field from tee-to-green and putting in his recent start at the Sony Open. On top of that, he arrives at a course where he’s finished in the top-20 three times in eight starts. We like the value in the best player on Tour at the moment.

For a midrange pick, there’s a solid amount of value in Brooks Koepka at +3300. Like Rahm, he plays Torrey Pines well, but doesn’t own all the trophies. Last year, Koepka missed the cut while he was nursing a knee injury that eventually led to surgery in March (he won the Waste Management anyway). Post procedure, he returned to Torrey Pines for the U.S. Open and finished T-4. Koepka has gained almost a stroke and a half on this week’s field, and we like him to continue that trend.

For a sleeper, 2019 Farmers Insurance Open winner Justin Rose looks good at +6000. Rose steadily improved in each of his four starts this past fall and if not for a second-round 73, he would have been right in the thick of the action at The American Express last week. Rose is also a horse for the course. Including the win three years ago, he’s also had two additional top-10 finishes in his past four starts here. He ranks first in strokes gained: (tee-to-green) and third overall in his last twelve rounds on the South Course. Look for Rosey to continue his momentum at a place he clearly enjoys.

2021-22 picks scoreboard:

Winners: 1
Top 5s: 4
Top 10s:
Top 20s: 1

2022 Farmers Insurance Open: Betting Odds

Here are some notable odds, according to SI Sportsbook:

  • Jon Rahm +700
  • Justin Thomas +1200
  • Xander Schauffele +1600
  • Hideki Matsuyama +1800
  • Dustin Johnson +1800
  • Bryson DeChambeau +1800
  • Daniel Berger +2000
  • Sam Burns +2500
  • Tony Finau +2800
  • Sungjae Im +2800
  • Scottie Scheffler +2800
  • Will Zalatoris +3000
  • Jordan Spieth +3000
  • Brooks Koepka +3300
  • Marc Leishman +3500
  • Patrick Reed +4000
  • Corey Conners +4000
  • Talor Gooch +5000
  • Si-Woo Kim +5000
  • Matthew Wolff +6000
  • MacKenzie Hughes +6600
  • Joaquin Niemann +6600
  • Justin Rose +6600
  • Lanto Griffin +6600
  • Ryan Palmer +6600
  • Maverick McNealy +6600
  • Keegan Bradley +6600
  • Max Homa +6600
  • Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6600
  • Billy Horschel +6600
  • Jason Day +8000
  • Aaron Wise +8000
  • Rickie Fowler +8000
  • Tom Hoge +8000
  • Luke List +8000
  • Cam Davis +9000
  • Cameron Tringale +9000
  • Keith Mitchell +9000
  • Alex Noren +9000
  • Francesco Molinari +9000
  • Brandt Snedeker +10000
  • Mito Pereira +10000
  • Joel Dahmen +12500
  • Hudson Swafford +12500
  • Adam Hadwin +12500
  • Jhonattan Vegas +12500
  • Phil Mickelson +12500
  • Matt Jones +12500
  • Cameron Champ +12500
  • Joseph Bramlett +12500
  • Aaron Rai +12500
  • Carlos Ortiz +12500
  • Gary Woodland +12500
  • Kyoung-Hoon Lee +15000
  • Michael Thompson +15000
  • Patton Kizzire +15000
  • Emiliano Grillo +15000
  • Doug Ghim +15000
  • Chez Reavie +15000
  • Sebastian Munoz +15000
  • Alex Smalley +15000
  • Taylor Moore +15000
  • Charley Hoffman +15000
  • Henrik Norlander +15000
  • Adam Svensson +15000
  • Wyndham Clark +15000
  • Kevin Streelman +15000
  • Patrick Rodgers +15000
  • Davis Riley +17500
  • Kyle Stanley +20000
  • Hayden Buckley +20000
  • Harry Higgs +20000
  • Stephan Jaeger +20000
  • Lee Hodges +20000
  • C.T. Pan +20000
  • Scott Piercy +20000
  • Vincent Whaley +20000
  • Rory Sabbatini +20000
  • Danny Lee +20000
  • Dylan Frittelli +20000
  • J.J. Spaun +20000
  • Adam Long +20000