The 2010 Farmers Insurance Six Pack

Congrats goes out to first time winner Bill Haas for capturing the title at last weeks Bob Hope Classic.

My friend Rob had him at 80:1 odds of winning. Let’s just say that his sports book account has a nice comfy cushion in it right now. I love that Haas got his first win, this could be a phenomenal year for this guy. Keep your eyes on him.

As for my account, we are desperately looking for that first winner. Heck, we are looking for our first top five for crying out loud. Keep in mind it is early in the season, and we have lots of time to catch up.

This week the PGA Tour travels to beautiful southern California to Torrey Pines. Did you know that if you are a San Diego resident, you can play there for $40? Makes you wonder how long the line is to get in. Even if you are an out-of-towner I think you can still play there for around $125. That’s really not bad as far as courses on the pro tour go, believe it or not.

The favorite this week is Phil Mickelson at 6:1 odds. Phil has a great chance to get it done this week. He has won here four times, and is coming off a fabulous finish to the 2009 season. Watch out for Mickelson this week. I also love Nick Watney who won here last year, but he is 18:1, just missing the cut requirements for the six pack.

In Yahoo fantasy, here is who I am going with:

GROUP A- I am starting Phil Mickelson and Luke Donald will back him up.

GROUP B- Both Hunter Mahan and Robert Allenby will start. Dustin Johnson and Charles “Chiclets” Howell III will back them up.

GROUP C- John Rollins will start while Brandt Snedeker does the back up.

This field offers TONS of value this week, should Mickelson not win, so let’s take a peek at my six pack.

No. 1 Hunter Mahan

How can you not love Mahan in this spot? The guy played into the fall of 2009 and trended up nicely to a T4 placement at the DAT Skills Challenge. He also slapped it around Australia rather successfully in the off season.

Mahan is a big hitter off the tee which will not hurt him at all at Torrey Pines. Hunter is fairly accurate, which makes him one of the best overall drivers in the entire tour. Probably the best feature of Hunter Mahan is his all-around ranking of fourth on tour last year.

This is a big opportunity for Hunter to get this new season off to a stellar start. You know he is hungry after not getting a single win all season last year.

Another thing that like about Mahan this week at Torrey Pines is his nice upward progression trend. He missed his first three cuts at this event. Then he placed 56th. The next year he placed 20th. Last year he came in 11th. Odds are he will at least be in the top five this year, and I am confident is his ability to nail down a win.

25:1 is a great payday for a guy of this talent level.

No.2 Dustin Johnson

It seems like I pick this guy all the time. I really think that his game (like Mahan’s) suits this course very well. Johnson has dipped his toes in the pond with two T16 finishes so far here in 2010. I know that he can do better.

Weather may prove to be a factor again in California this weekend. This plays into Johnson's hands. He played in adverse weather conditions throughout his college career, and has been well trained in handling adverse elements.

Johnson's distance off the tee will be a huge advantage in slow fairway conditions such as those that are to be expected this weekend. I also like the fact that DJ seems to have his putter rolling well so far in the young season. If you get a chance to see this guy on TV, it’s simply awesome to watch him smash the ball off the tee. He loads his wrists up so much, it hurts MY wrists to watch him!

At 33:1 Dustin is a fabulous pick. I firmly expect him to better than the T19 he had here last year.

No. 3 Ryan Moore

It looks as though Ryan Moore’s potential has turned into reality. In Moore’s past five events he has finished seventh, eighth, third, sixth, and 10th. This means that he is on FIRE. You just don’t see numbers like that on tour very often. This is the main reason I am picking him this week. You must strike while the iron is hot.

Couple his tremendous recent play with the fact that he is now part owner of Scratch Golf Company, and you have a recipe for success. He loves these new clubs and has never been able to spin the ball like he is now. That translates into confidence, which will ultimately translate into another win for Moore, which hopefully occurs this week.

Moore is also 33:1 odds to win at The Farmers Insurance Open.

No. 4 John Rollins

John Rollins has been a runner up here at Torrey Pines before and he has an affinity for playing here. He has jumped out to a terrific start early here in 2010 and besides Ryan Moore is one of the hottest players on tour right now. His last three events have seen him trend up nicely going T24, T14, to T8 in his last event.

Rollins can hammer the ball off the tee and is currently one of the top players in regards to GIR percentage. I know that he often finishes in the top 10 at this event and his hunger is burning for a victory here. At 33:1 odds Rollins is definitely worth a look.

No. 5 Luke Donald

Luke Donald isn’t one of the top 30 golfers in the world for no reason. This guy has some serious ability. Now that he is healthy and free of any wrist problems, it’s just a matter of time before he snatches his next victory. Torrey Pines is a place, where that very likely may just happen. Donald has been a runner up here twice, and has also finished seventh here twice. Those are some fantastic results.

Although Donald is coming off a cut at the Sony Open a couple of weeks ago, he rarely misses back to back cuts. Even better, he usually comes out and plays great after missing a cut. I know that Donald has an affinity for this course, and I really like him to give Phil a run for his money. Sign me up with Luke Donald at 33:1 odds.

No. 6 Nathan Green

This is definitely my long shot this week. That being said, Green is coming off and impressive T8 finish at The Sony Open. Green has played in this event four times. He missed the cut once, but two of those times saw him place second and 11th. Not too shabby.

Green is one of those guys that plays pretty mediocre golf for the entire season, but somewhere in the course of that season he squeezes in either a win or a top three finish. I think this year it will be Torrey Pines at The Farmers, where he gets it done. At 80:`1 odds (Bill Haas was 80:1 last week) I am going to take a shot with Nathan Green.