2026 Farmers Insurance Open Preview

The PGA TOUR season has wasted no time getting up to speed, and as it reaches its final weekend of January, the schedule now arrives at one of its most demanding early-season tests along the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean. After two weeks that leaned more toward scoring opportunities and rhythm-building venues, the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines asks a very different set of questions, with players rotating between the North and South Courses in San Diego. Length suddenly matters again, and not just in theory, both courses, especially the South, reward players who can carry it long off the tee and still control their ball flight into firm, fast conditions. Torrey Pines’ smaller-than-usual Poa Annua greens place a premium on iron accuracy, particularly from longer distances, where holding putting surfaces becomes a weekly challenge rather than a luxury. Misses are inevitable, but the players best equipped to survive here are those who combine power with precision, turning long approaches into controlled opportunities instead of defensive recoveries. It’s a setup that naturally tilts the advantage toward elite ball strikers with distance in their bag, and as the field settles into one of the TOUR’s most recognizable coastal stops, Torrey Pines once again promises to separate complete players from the rest before the calendar even flips to February. With that being said, let’s look at the players looking to break out this weekend on one of the TOUR’s toughest venues: Brooks Koepka With a decent amount of the attention this week falling on familiar PGA TOUR stars near the top of the FedEx Cup standings, the storyline that carries the most intrigue at Torrey Pines is the long-awaited return of Brooks Koepka to a TOUR-sanctioned event for the first time since 2022. Koepka’s competitive appearances over the last year have been limited to the major championships, and the results in 2025 painted a mixed picture. He showed he can still contend at the highest level with a T12 finish at the U.S. Open, but struggled to find any rhythm at the Masters, PGA Championship, and The Open, missing the cut in each. His history at Torrey Pines doesn’t inspire much confidence on paper either, as he failed to make the weekend in both of his previous Farmers Insurance Open starts. Still, that inconsistency outside the majors has long been part of Koepka’s career arc, as he has rarely prioritized regular TOUR stops in the same way he has golf’s biggest stages. This time around, the motivation feels different. As he's preparing to work his way back through the Returning Member Program and try to regain his top-tier status in the OWGR, Koepka arrives in San Diego with plenty to prove. Torrey Pines places a premium on power, patience, and ball control off the tee, areas where he has historically excelled and where his recent form still shows signs of life. The biggest questions surround his iron play and putting, which have been uneven in limited action, but the foundation remains. Even if expectations should be tempered, the presence of a five-time major champion back in a TOUR field adds undeniable intrigue, and this week could offer an early indication of how serious Koepka’s push back toward relevance might be. Harris English Harris English quietly put together one of the strongest seasons of his long PGA TOUR career in 2025, and it all started with a breakthrough win right here at Torrey Pines. That victory was backed up by two runner-up finishes at major championships at the PGA and The Open, four top-10s overall, and a level of consistency that saw him finish inside the top 25 in more than half of his starts while missing just two cuts all season. What made that Farmers Insurance Open win so fascinating is that English didn’t win it in the “typical” Torrey Pines mold. He isn’t among the longest hitters in the field, nor does he overwhelm courses with raw power, but his short game was elite across the board last year. He ranked near the top of TOUR in scrambling from every distance bucket, avoided three-putts at an excellent rate, and was automatic inside 10 feet, which proved invaluable on Torrey’s small, demanding Poa Annua greens. Seeing those types of statistics makes it slightly hard to believe that he put up a winning performance here last year and even harder to believe he can repeat that performance, especially on a layout that usually rewards length and long-iron dominance like the South Course. However, English proved to everyone a year ago that precision, patience, and an elite short game can absolutely neutralize those disadvantages. After opening his 2026 campaign with a solid T17 at The American Express, he returns to a venue where confidence clearly matters, and after what we saw here last season, it’s impossible to completely rule him out from another deep run. JJ Spaun The former San Diego State Aztec enters this year's event with the kind of momentum that would make any hometown favorite dangerous, particularly after the standout 2025 season that saw him capture his first major at the U.S. Open, along with three runner-up finishes, including two playoff losses at The PLAYERS and the FedEx St. Jude Invitational, and several other top-10 finishes across 25 starts. While his overall distance off the tee doesn’t scream “Torrey Pines contender,” Spaun proved last year that power isn’t the only way to thrive on the South Course. He consistently gained strokes across all facets of the game, especially tee-to-green and approach play, putting himself in position to capitalize on scoring opportunities even when raw distance lagged behind the field. Some of the numbers weren’t flashy, as his greens in regulation and proximity stats ranked middle-of-the-pack, but his well-rounded skill set and proven ability to convert birdies make him a serious threat in any given week. Torrey Pines has historically been a bit of a rollercoaster for Spaun, with a T15 last year but missed cuts in three of his four previous appearances. Still, there’s reason for optimism this week, especially considering the hometown motivation he might have, familiarity with Southern California conditions, and the confidence of having just completed the best season of his career could combine to push him into contention once again. Like Harris English did last year, Spaun might find a way to defy the course’s length and post impressive numbers when it counts most. Now, let’s look at this weekend's top predictions and players who I think will thrive the most here: 3. Top 20: Ryan Gerard Ryan Gerard might not be one of the biggest names on the PGA TOUR just yet, but the former North Carolina Tar Heel has already shown he has the tools to become a household name in the near future. After back-to-back runner-up finishes to start 2026 at both the Sony Open and the American Express, he’s carrying an impressive head of steam into Torrey Pines this week. His start to the year is already forcing fans and analysts to take notice, especially with another deep West Coast field set to tee it up. Last season, Gerard posted mostly average numbers across the board in Strokes Gained, but his iron game, more specifically his longer irons, remains one of the more underrated weapons on TOUR. That skill set is tailor-made for Torrey Pines, where long, accurate approaches are critical on the narrow fairways and smaller-than-usual Poa Annua greens. He’s already proven how well he can handle both the South and North Courses, finishing T15 in his debut at this event last year and showing comfort in managing the layout’s challenges. With his early-season momentum, elite approach play, and scrambling ability to save par when necessary, Gerard seems primed for another strong showing. I’d be fairly surprised to see him outside the top-20, making this range a safe expectation, but it also wouldn’t be shocking to see him contending for the outright title as a dark horse, especially if he continues to ride this wave of momentum into another weekend. This is a player who deserves far more attention than he’s currently getting. 2. Top 10: Xander Schauffele Xander once again arrives at Torrey Pines as the focal point of the field, and even though he didn’t log an overly heavy schedule last season, his efficiency when he did tee it up was undeniable, as he didn't miss a single cut in any of his 16 starts, found the top 25 in well over half of them and the top 10 in a quarter of them, and ultimately added another win late in 2025, reinforcing how steady and reliable his game remains on demanding venues. This year marks his return to the Farmers Insurance Open for the first time since a T9 finish in 2024, and while he was very close here in 2021, where he finished in the runner-up spot, he’s still chasing that elusive first victory at Torrey Pines, a place that carries extra meaning given his San Diego roots and college ties at San Diego State. From a pure course-fit standpoint, it all lines up, as his combination of length, controlled driving, and elite approach play from the 150–200 yard range is tailor-made for the mixture of the North Course's scoring opportunities and the South Course’s long par 4s, Poa Annua greens, and relentless scoring pressure. He’s also proven time and again that he thrives on difficult setups, finishing inside the top 12 in three of the four majors last season. While I fully expect Schauffele to pick up a win or two elsewhere in 2026, this week feels more like another strong, high-end result rather than a must-win spot. Vegas clearly agrees with his upside, pricing him as the outright favorite, but from a betting standpoint, I’m most comfortable backing him to finish inside the top 10. With his consistency, course history, and hometown motivation, it’s hard to see him fading from contention as the weekend unfolds. 1. Winner: Cameron Young There are a handful of players who I believe could legitimately outlast the competition at this year’s event, especially because the field is stacked with players capable of winning, but I’m ultimately rocking with Cameron Young for a few key reasons. Even though he hasn’t teed it up at Torrey Pines since 2022, where he finished T20, Young enters this week carrying the kind of form and skill set that could make him very tough to beat. After missing the cut at last year’s Masters, he turned into one of the most reliable players on TOUR, making 14 of 15 cuts in his next starts, and he absolutely dominated in the second half of the season. In his last six starts following that lone missed cut at The Open, Young posted five top-10s, with his only finish outside that range being an 11th-place showing at the BMW Championship. That stretch included his first PGA TOUR victory at the Wyndham Championship and a top-five finish in the final FedEx Cup standings. Beyond his consistency, Young’s putting game was arguably the most improved aspect of his 2025 season, and he ranked inside the top 10 in nearly every major putting metric, including One-Putt Percentage, Putting Average, and Strokes Gained: Putting, giving him the flat-stick edge needed on Torrey’s small, lightning-fast Poa Annua greens. When you combine that with his elite distance off the tee, he’s one of the longest hitters on TOUR, and you have a player whose game is tailor-made for this week’s conditions. Young has shown flashes in the past, but the way he closed last season suggests he’s ready to carry that momentum into 2026, contend at Torrey Pines, and potentially add more PGA TOUR wins while positioning himself as a serious contender to win his first major championship this year.