by Herschel Caldwell
The Farmers Insurance Open will likely mark the unofficial start to the 2011 PGA season for a lot of fans with Tiger Woods making his debut. Couple that with Phil Mickelson, and Torrey Pines is looking at its best tournament in the last few years. There’s no need to re-hash all of the storylines surrounding the 3rd and fourth ranked players in the world (doesn’t sound right, does it?) so let’s give you what you need to know.
This challenging South course on the Pacific Coast in San Diego will test the field off the tee. It will be played at around 7,600 yards and ranked one of the more difficult non-major courses in 2010. While the length is significant, accuracy will also be at a premium with challenging rough and tough recoveries around the greens.
With that said, let’s take a look at the field and how it breaks down from our perspective.
Surging on Sunday
1. Tiger Woods — Look, I honestly don’t think Torrey Pines will be the site of Woods’ welcome back party, but his past results here are amazing. The last time playing here, Woods rode one bum knee to a U.S. Open playoff victory over Rocco Mediate. Prior to missing this tournament the past two years, he won it four straight times. And you have to believe that falling to third in the world rankings has ultra-competitive Woods motivated.
2. Bill Haas — The 28-year-old is playing the best golf of his career. After a breakout 2010, Haas lost in a playoff last week and finished T8 at the Tournament of Champions. After a T11 showing here in 2009, Haas failed to break 70 last year and ended T37. He hasn’t shot a round outside of the 60s this year so don’t expect a repeat of 2010.
3. Nick Watney — The 2009 winner has recorded just 11 bogeys in his last 144 holes at Torrey Pines and has finished top 10 in three of the last four years. This will be the first start of 2011 for the newly married Watney, and he’ll try to carry over his success from a year ago. He failed to record a win but only missed two cuts and finished outside of the top 25 just 10 times in 25 starts.
4. Justin Rose — There isn’t enough love for Rose this week as 2010 marked the best season for the Englishman as he recorded two wins and two other top 10s. This year, Rose has a T12 at the Tournament of Champions and a T13 at the Sony Open. Even with a 75 in his first round of the year, Rose still sits T14 in scoring with a 69.04 average. This will be the first time he’s played this tournament in consecutive years so maybe it will be his most prepared.
5. Robert Allenby — The Australian missed the cut in his only event this season but don’t let that fool you. One of the top all-around players on Tour last year and had two solo 2nd place finishes. He closed out the year with two top 5s in his final three starts. Allenby’s history at Torrey Pines isn’t too bad either – T9 at this event in 2010 and 2007.
Sleeper Picks
1. Anthony Kim — The three-time PGA Tour winner appears to be back from a thumb injury that plagued him for most of last season. He has two top 25 finishes in two starts this year. He’ll be paired with Tiger the first two rounds, and like his playing partner, this will be his first appearance here since 2008.
2. Charles Howell III — Since his last Tour win in 2007, Howell hasn’t been a factor in too many tournaments. The former top 15 player has shown much more consistency as of late. He closed out 2010 with two top 10s and two other top 25s in his final four events. Howell finished T13 at the Bob Hope but was a legitimate threat to win.
3. Martin Laird — We’re going to keep riding the Scot until he’s a familiar name. He’s coming off a disappointing finish at the Bob Hope where he was in the final threesome but shot 74 on Sunday. His game suits the length of Torrey Pines as he ranks 6th in distance (305.3) and T16 in driving accuracy (75%) on Tour this year.
4. Keegan Bradley — The 24-year-old has wasted little time making his presence known on the PGA tour. The former St. John’s star entered the final round at the Bob Hope just three strokes off the lead and finished T7. In seven rounds this season, Bradley’s highest score has been a 70.
5. Andres Romero — The 2008 PGA Rookie of the Year hasn’t made much noise since that first year, but he plays well against strong fields. The Argentine made his only appearance in this tournament last year. Opening rounds of 69 and 71 had him squarely in the mix before a collapse on the weekend.
Low Expectations
Dustin Johnson — There’s no question that he has the game to take down this field, but there seems to be too much working against him. Despite the speculation about his relationship status, Johnson has been dealing with personal issues and withdrew from the Sony Open. That, added with his mediocre history here, will lead to an underwhelming performance.
Phil Mickelson — It’s difficult to downplay 2010 for Mickelson because he did win the Masters, but outside of that week, his game wasn’t indicative of one of the world’s best players. He’ll be playing in San Diego after traveling back from last week’s appearance in Abu Dhabi, where he finished 19 strokes out of the lead. He has the track record to succeed here, but I don’t think he’ll be in the mix once the weekend hits.
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