The PGA TOUR continues its early year West Coast swing as they head to Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open this week. In the desert last week, Sepp Straka claimed the win at La Quinta, but there’s a stronger field in place this week in a second straight multi-course event. While the pros played on three courses last week, there are just two courses in play this week. Each player will play one round on the North Course and one round on the South Course at Torrey Pines before the typical 36-hole cut. After the cut, the top 65 and ties will finish the week on the famous South Course of Torrey Pines. The other unique thing about this week’s tournament is that it starts on Wednesday and runs through Saturday to avoid competing with the NFL Conference Championships next Sunday.
For more info on the field, the course, the weather, and some key stats check out this First Look from RotoGrinders.
The focus of this post is strong GPP options who have lower ownership projections than their potential performance. Finding high-leverage plays is critical for GPP success, so the picks here go against the grain, looking for under-owned options.
All Strokes Gained metrics referenced are from the Rabbit Hole.
Usually, I rely heavily on the Stroked Gained Model in FantasyLabs, which is very predictive of results. I also tend to lean into players who excel in Strokes Gained: Approach, which is more sustainable week-to-week than a hot putter.
Since these are GPP picks, we can accept more risk in exchange for getting a higher ceiling. High-risk, high-reward options with low ownership create the “boom-or-bust” style lineups that often lead to large-field success. To find guidance for all contest types, check out our full Daily Fantasy Golf coverage each week.
No matter what type of format you prefer, be sure to use the FantasyLabs PGA Models to help you make the best choices. These models use stats and simulations to highlight different players’ strengths and weaknesses. A few critical new stats for GPP play are Perfect% and SimLeverage, which are further explained here.
As you dig into the numbers, you can enjoy the many tools FantasyLabs offers, including the Lineup Optimizer, which effortlessly creates up to 300 lineups. Alternatively, you can use the Lineup Builder if you prefer a more hands-on approach.
Check out my top picks in each price range listed below.
Editors note: SimLeverage and Perfect% numbers may change after this piece is published. Be sure to check the PGA Models for any updates to the sims.
High-Priced PGA DFS Picks
Note: FantasyLabs has partnered with Betsperts Golf and the Rabbit Hole! Sign up for the biggest database of golf stats available on the internet and get 25% off a yearly sub with our link!
Unless otherwise noted, all Strokes Gained metrics referenced in this article come via the Rabbit Hole.
Tool Highlights
- Build unlimited custom stat models with official PGA TOUR data.
- Hundreds of filters to find the exact data split you’re looking for.
- Save custom reports and run them again with next week’s field.
- Download anything you right to your computer with the click of a button.
- See expert models each week.
Keegan Bradley $9,900
Four golfers this week have salaries of $10,000 or higher, but Bradley offers a strong alternative to those “big four” and brings the lowest ownership projection of the top six in the salary structure by a significant margin. He brings excellent course history and strong recent form to Torrey Pines, and he can either be included with another star in a “stars and scrubs” build or used as the top option in a more balanced approach.
Bradley has plenty of experience at Torrey Pines having played the event since 2011. He has made the cut in 11 of his 13 trips with seven top 25s and three top 10s. Two years ago, he finished runner-up to Max Homa, and last year made the cut on his way to a T43.
He comes back to Torrey Pines after an extremely successful Opening Drive to the season in Hawaii. He finsihed T15 at The Sentry and T6 at the Sony Open. Keegan gained strokes overall in three of four rounds in each of those two events and really dialed in his ball striking at the Sony, gaining strokes from tee to green in each of his four rounds there and seven of his eight rounds to start the season.
Throughout his career, Bradley has been a boom-or-bust DFS option, but for tournament play his upside is worth a look since his ownership projection is lagging so far behind the other top options.
Will Zalatoris $9,500
Zalatoris got a huge bump in salary this week, and there’s definitely a case to be made that he’s overpriced. However, since that seems to be the prevailing public opinion, he offers some extreme leverage in this price range with his ownership projection under 8%. In comparison, no other player with $8,700 or more has an ownership projection under 12%.
Like Keegan, Zalatoris has plenty of course history to consider. Last year, while working his way back to health, he placed T13 at the Farmers Insurance Open and also notched top-10 finishes in 2021 and 2022, when he finished runner-up in a playoff to Luke List.
Zalatoris had an up-and-down 2024, making the cut in 15 of 22 events with three top 10s but a rough stretch over the summer. He finished strong with a T12 at the FedEx St. Jude, a T13 at the BMW Championship, and a T18 at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on the DP World Tour. He has also looked strong in the early going of 2025. Zalatoris ended up T26 at The Sentry but played better than that indicates since he took a two-stroke penalty for playing the wrong ball. Last week, he posted a T12 at La Quinta, where he ranked in the top 16 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green.
He has proven he can contend on this course and has looked sharp to start the season. I expect the 28-year-old to return to the winner’s circle this season, and this week gives him a good shot to do that. He’s a higher risk than the other options in the $9,000 range, but his upside and ownership projection make him a great tournament target.
Now available: our PGA DFS SimLabs Lineup Generator that creates advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation.