It was another week and another Jon Rahm win last weekend at La Quinta, where the Spaniard shot -27 to hold off Davis Thompson by a stroke to win The American Express.
Rahm is now two-for-two in 2023, also winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, and surprise, he’s in action this weekend as the Tour heads to Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open.
Five players in the top 10 are heading to San Diego, so there are some names at the top of the Farmers Insurance Open odds board that can challenge Rahm.
Jon Rahm +450
Rahm is barreling towards being the favorite at Augusta in a couple of months, and he just leapfrogged Cameron Smith for third in the OWGR with his fast start to 2023. Rahm hit 84.9% of his GIR to lead the field last weekend in La Quinta and was able to avenge a second place last season at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, where he shot a -33 and still lost by a stroke to Smith.
Rahm was born in Barrika, Spain, but Torrey Pines really might be the place he calls home. He picked up his first PGA win here at this event in 2017, won the 2021 U.S. Open here, and even proposed to his now-wife here in 2018. Rahm is the man to beat this weekend 100%.
Xander Schauffele +1100
There were some health concerns for Xander Schauffele last week at La Quinta, even though he was +1100 on the odds heading into the American Express. Schauffele had to pull out of the Sentry Tournament of Champions due to a back injury but looked healthy last week with a T3 at -25.
If Schauffele is good to go, he’s one to watch here as a La Jolla native that stayed close to home at San Diego State University.
Schauffele had a runner-up at the American Express in 2021 and came in seventh at the 2021 U.S. Open here, but otherwise, he’s largely struggled at his ‘home course’ with four MCs and two other finishes outside the top 25 in eight events.
Tony Finau +1200
The models like Tony Finau this week, even though he’s had a somewhat disappointing start to 2023 with a seventh at the Sentry and a 16th last weekend at the AMEX.
Those are two top-20 finishes, even in very competitive fields, so maybe we’re just expecting too much from Finau after his two victories in consecutive weeks last season and winning the Houston Open during the Fall leg.
Finau had finished in the top six in four of five trips to the Farmers Open but followed last year’s runner-up by missing the cut with a 67-77. That’s still a decent course history to go off of, though.
Collin Morikawa / Will Zalatoris +1400
Disappointment seems to be the angle with both of these golfers heading into the Farmers Insurance Open, as Collin Morikawa had a meltdown at Kapalua, blowing what was at one point a nine-stroke lead in the Sentry before being overtaken by Rahm and finishing second.
Zalatoris was chasing down his first career victory at this event last season before bogeying the playoff hole and losing to Luke List.
