Farmers Insurance Open Preview

Never before, to the best of my knowledge, has Tiger Woods not been seen as a leading favourite to win at San Diego's famed Torrey Pines Golf Club.

The man has, after all, had a long love affair with the club, having won there eight times, starting with his triumph aged 15 in the 1991 Junior World Championship, and highlighted by his dramatic victory in the 2008 US Open when he finished with a broken bone in his leg.

His other six victories all came in the annual PGA Tour event that is played there, currently called the Farmers Insurance Open

Sadly, like defending champion Scott Stallings, who right now is badly out of form, Woods gets not a mentioned as a possible winner of the Farmers this year; not by the bookmaker, nor by the tipsters. And not altogether without reason.

The 39-year-old former World No 1 and owner of more than 70 PGA Tour victories, 14 of those in the Majors, has hit the deepest trough of his career since his return from injury late last year. In December he finished last in the invitational he hosts at the end of every season and was last again last week after the first 36 holes at TPC Scottsdale where he missed the cut. Worst still, the 82 he posted in the second round was easily the worst of his career.

Old rival and a three-time Torrey Pines winner Phil Mickelson also missed the cut at TPC Scottsdale, but unlike Tiger, he is not being totally ignored.

Behind their 12/1 favourite Jordan Spieth and 14/1 joint second favourites, Jimmy Walker and Jason Day, the bookies have him in joint 10th place with mid-January's Humana Challenge winner Bill Haas at 30/1. Tiger's odds are 50/1 which comes, somewhat ironically, at a moment in time when he has just been edged out of the World's Top 50 on the World Rankings list.

Besides the bookies’ favourite, Spieth, the 21-year-old Texan who finished 7th at Scottsdale last week and led this Torrey Pines event after the first 36 holes last year before slipping back into a tie for 19th with two weekend 75s, just who are we looking at as this week's most likely winner?

Lanky Jimmy Walker has to be one of them.

He won at Waialae early in January after finishing second in the 2015 year-opener, The Hyundai Tournament of Champions, and with two top 10 finishes at Torrey Pines (2012 and 2013) he would seem to be partial to its courses, where long straight hitters like him can flourish in the three rounds which are played on the 7,698 yard South Course, the longest of any course on the US PGA circuit and the longest in Major history.

The other round will played on the 7 000 yard North Course, either on Thursday on Friday, depending on the players draw.

Japan's Hideki Matsuyama is another possible winner. He shared second place at TPC Scottsdale, one stroke back, and has picked up top three in his last eight starts worldwide and must be knocking harder on the door than almost anyone else right now.

Australian Jason Day has the talent to win anywhere and at any time, and Brit Justin Rose, the highest World-ranked player in the field and fresh from his European Tour warm-up, certainly can't be discounted. Nor, for that matter, can Ricky Fowler.

There has been a lot of insider talk about the relatively unknown young American Justin Thomas. The stats show he comes to Torrey Pines with five straight Top 25s, three of which he led or co-led in par-5 scoring, so watch him. He looks a good fit for the two La Jolla cliff top courses.

So does big hitting Brooks Koepka, who ranks second on the tour in longest drives and is No 1 in adjusted scoring, but coming just a week after his big, million dollar breakthrough in the WM Phoenix Open on Sunday, he may not have had sufficient time to get both his feet back on the ground.

Our Golf Weather.com boffins are forecasting no rain this week, say it is not going to get too hot and there will only be light winds off the sea, mostly in the mid-teens, but sometimes getting up to 21kp/h, so the weather shouldn't be much of a factor.

Leading Odds on Monday Afternoon

Jordan Spieth 12/1
Jason Day 14/1
Jimmy Walker 14/1
Hideki Matsuyama 20/1
Justin Rose 22/1
Rickie Fowler 25/1
Brandt Snedeker 28/1
Brooks Koepka 28/1
Graham DeLaet 28/1
Bill Haas 30/1
Phil Mickelson 30/1
Justin Thomas 35/1
Dustin Johnson 35/1
Gary Woodland 40/1
Hunter Mahan 40/1
Marc Leishman 45/

NOTE: For all the bookmaker odds, go to http://www.oddschecker.com/golf/farmers-insurance-open/winner.

For any feedback or ideas you are welcome to email: neville@golfweather.com.