Long shots Pat Perez (125-1) and Jamie Lovemark (500-1) both graduated from Torrey Pines High School. Other notables in the event include tournament favorite Rory McIlroy (13-2), Jon Rahm (15-2), Tiger Woods (10-1) and defending champion Justin Rose (14-1). Before you make any 2020 Farmers Insurance Open picks of your own, be sure to check out the PGA Tour predictions from SportsLine's resident golf insider, Sal Johnson.
A media legend and consummate golf insider, Johnson is coming off a red-hot year. He featured Tiger Woods in his best bets for the Masters and backed Brooks Koepka in his picks for the PGA Championship, and both players pulled off major victories. In the season-ending Tour Championship, he nailed it, pegging Koepka, McIlroy and Schauffele as main contenders to come out on top. McIlroy won the event for the second time, Schauffele was second and Koepka tied for third.
At last month's Sony Open, Johnson picked Cameron Smith as one of the long shots who could come through, and the 26-year-old won in a playoff for his second Tour victory. Johnson also has covered countless tournaments at Torrey Pines and had the inside scoop on last year's Farmers Insurance Open, selecting Rose as one of his best bets to win. The Englishman proved him right, finishing at 21-under to win by two strokes. In 2017, he also predicted that Jon Rahm could break through at Torrey Pines, and the Spaniard won his first PGA Tour title.
Now, Johnson, the first producer of "Inside the PGA Tour," a longtime ABC Sports golf producer who has worked with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman, and the founder of the world's top golf statistics database, has released his highly-confident 2020 Farmers Insurance Open picks, and they will surprise you. Visit SportsLine now to see them.
This time around, Johnson wants no part of Schauffele, one of the top Vegas favorites at 16-1. In fact, he says Schauffele has a history of struggles at his home event. Schauffele, from nearby La Jolla, has been the runner-up in three of his last six PGA Tour starts, but he tied for 25th at the Farmers last year and missed three cuts previously.
Johnson has watched the rise of Rahm after predicting it before the 2017 edition of this tournament, as the Spaniard has finished in the top 10 in 11 of his last 14 starts. The 25-year-old has three Tour victories and ranked sixth in total shots gained last season. He was sixth in birdie average and shot in the 60s in seven of his 12 rounds at Torrey Pines. His scoring average at this course is 69.
The stats guru also is well aware of the talent possessed by Jason Day (40-1), who has won the Farmers twice in the past five years. The Australian will be making his first start since withdrawing from the Presidents Cup with a back injury, but the 32-year-old has recorded 10 of his 12 Tour victories in the past five years. He was 13th on Tour in shots gained off the tee last season and 16th in greens in regulation at 69.7 percent.
Johnson will also have his eye on a massive long shot who finished strong at Torrey Pines last year. This unheralded player ranks high in scrambling, which is critical to taming Torrey Pines' small greens, and he also is strong with the putter. Anyone who backs this underdog could hit it big.
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