Farmers Insurance Open 2025 Preview, Picks & Analysis

This is a big year for Will Zalatoris and he will be looking for a big performance at this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. 

The 28-year-old American has finished second in three of the majors but he has also faced some career-threatening injury problems.

After bursting on the scene and emerging as one of golf brightest prospects, he missed a huge part of the 2023 after undergoing back surgery. It was a real concern for such a young golfer. He had also shown some real frailty on the greens and when he returned to action in 2024 he had decided to turn to a long putter. This was both to ease the pressure on his back and to improve his performance on the greens.

Zalatoris turned professional in 2018 but failed to make it past First Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Q-School. With no status in 2019, Zalatoris relied on Monday qualifying and sponsor exemptions to play in Korn Ferry Tour events. He secured membership for the remainder of the season on July 7 after a tie for third at the LECOM Health Challenge and finished the regular season in 60th place, earning full status for the 2020 season.

His first professional victory came in July 2020 when he won the Colorado Championship by one stroke. The win took him top of the Korn Ferry Tour points list and qualified him for the US Open at Winged Foot, where he had a hole in one at the par three seventh during the first round, very nearly replicating it six holes later. He finished the week in a tie for sixth place, his first top 10 in a major. 

He followed it up with a tied eighth at the Corales Puntacana Championship and secured Special Temporary Member status of the PGA Tour after the Bermuda Championship in early November.

In April 2021, Zalatoris finished second at The Masters with a score of 9-under-par, one stroke behind champion Hideki Matsuyama and went on to be named rookie of the year for the 2020-21 season.

In October 2021, he shot his career low round (61) on the PGA Tour at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

In January 2022, Zalatoris tied for the lead after 72 holes at the Farmers Insurance Open, losing a playoff to Luke List when List hit his approach shot to a foot from the first playoff hole and made birdie.

In May 2022, Zalatoris finished second in a major for the second time, losing in a playoff to Justin Thomas at the US PGA at Southern Hills. The next month he was second again, this time finishing level with Scottie Scheffler behind Matthew Fitzpatrick at the US Open.

In August 2022 he won his first PGA Tour event, claiming the FedEx St Jude at TPC Southwind when he defeated Sepp Straka in a playoff. 

His form in 2024 was something of a mixed bag. In 22 starts he missed seven cuts, including three in a row in July and August. He also failed to make the weekend at both the US Open and Open Championship. But he was tied second at the Genesis and tied fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and also enjoyed a top-10 finish at The Masters.

There was an unlikely finish at the Farmers Insurance Open 12 months ago when Matthieu Pavon claimed the title, the first Frenchman to win on the PGA Tour since it was established in 1929.

The PGA Tour rookie was playing in his 11th Tour event and shot a three-under-par round of 69 to win by one shot at Torrey Pines in San Diego.

He sealed victory with a birdie on the 18th to finish on 13 under, a stroke ahead of Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard.

"I still can't believe it. It is big for our country," Pavon said. "I hope it will inspire a lot of people because coming from an amateur player which is 800 in the world to a PGA Tour winner is pretty big."

Pavon recovered from a bogey at the first hole to pick up five birdies in the remainder of his round at the Torrey Pines South Course.

After his eight-foot birdie putt at the 18th, he roared in celebration and then hugged caddie Mark Sherwood.

Pavon, who won on the DP World Tour at the Spanish Open in October 2023, said: "I can't thank the PGA Tour enough to give us the opportunity to come from Europe and compete here in America against the best players in the world. That's always been the dream for me. I got finally a shot and I took it. I think it is historic for French golf."

Hojgaard finished in second after a 70 while Germany's Stephan Jaeger and American duo Nate Lashley and Jake Knapp tied for third place on 11 under.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Ludvig Aberg has been a professional for less than two years. He has already represented Europe in the Ryder Cup and on his major debut last year he finished runner-up to Scottie Scheffler at The Masters. He was won on both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour and enjoyed a fabulous level of consistency in 2024 but he needs to win again. And the two courses at Torrey Pines should suit him down to the ground.

Tournament Winners:

It was won in 2016 by Brandt Snedeker, in 2017 by Jon Rahm, in 2018 by Jason Day, in 2019 by Justin Rose, in 2020 by Marc Leishman, in 2021 by Patrick Reed, in 2022 by Luke List, in 2023 by Max Homa and last year by Matthieu Pavon.

Form Guide:

Ludvig Aberg is embarking on only his second full season on the PGA Tour. He is a wonderful ball striker who also possesses a fabulous temperament. These courses are made for his game.

The Courses:

The Farmers Insurance Open is played over two courses at Torrey Pines, the North and the South. The South is a monster at 7,765 yards and features a wonderful closing par five that calls for a second shot played over water. It has seen many dramatic finishes over the years, never more so than in 2017 when Rahm won his maiden PGA Tour title by holing an outrageous putt on the 18th green. The North course measures 7,258 yards. Both layouts are par 72.

Prize Money:

The total prize fund is around $9m with the champion pocketing in the region of $1.7m and 500 FedEx Cup points.

To Win:

Ludvig Aberg. Due another big win

Each Way:

Shane Lowry. Could be a big season for the Irishman

Five to Follow:

Ludvig Aberg. Surely a future world number one

Matthieu Pavon. Defending champion

Shane Lowry. Wonderful short game

Max Homa. Former winner looking to repeat

Will Zalatoris. Big season for the American

Five Outsiders to Watch:

Aaron Baddeley. Still possesses a wondrous putting stroke - and a dreadful hairstyle!

Antoine Rozner. Big test for the French golfer

Patrick Fishburn. Has shown some proper form

Harry Hall. Englishman making a name for himself on the PGA Tour

Matteo Manassero. Can he crack the PGA Tour?