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Tiger chasing history, but not favored at Torrey Pines

[January 23, 2020] Tiger Woods will be chasing history at one of his favorite venues this week, but he won't be the betting favorite when he tees it up at the Farmers Insurance Open on Thursday.

That honor goes to Rory McIlroy, the top-ranked player in the field this week at No. 2. And he has been reeling in No. 1 Brooks Koepka with four wins and 10 other top-10s in his past 20 worldwide starts.

McIlroy is being offered at +600 by PointsBet and +660 by DraftKings, with Spain's Jon Rahm the next lowest odds at +750/+775. Woods, who has won the event seven times -- but not since 2013 -- is the third choice by both books at /+1000/+1100.

Woods is seeking to set the PGA Tour career record for victories, which he currently shares with Sam Snead at 82. In addition to his seven wins in 18 regular Tour starts at Torrey Pines and another in the 2008 U.S. Open, Woods has five other top-10s. He'll be paired for the first two rounds with Rahm and Collin Morikawa (+3000/+3500), who has yet to miss a cut in 14 starts on Tour since turning professional last summer.

PointsBet is offering a "3 Ball" prop bet for the grouping: Rahm (+130), Woods (+156), Morikawa (+271).

McIlroy hasn't competed since November, but he did post a T5 in his first career start at the Farmers last year.

Another marquee pairing features the American trio of Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and Xander Schauffele.

Fowler (+2200/+2000) has opened 2020 with a pair of top-10s, but is coming off another disappointing final round at last week's The American Express, where he failed to convert being in the final group with lesser-known counterparts Andrew Landry and Scottie Scheffler.

Mickelson (+9000/+12500) is making his 30th start in the event, but is coming off a missed cut and hasn't posted a top-25 result since the Masters last April.

The soft-spoken Schauffele continues to fly under the radar, but the San Diego native is ranked No. 9 and has three runner-ups and two T10s in his past six starts. He's the fourth betting favorite at +1500 by PointsBet and +1650 by DraftKings.

Defending champion Justin Rose is +1600 at PointsBet and +1800 at DraftKings, who have him as the co-fifth favorite with Japan's Hideki Matsuyama. Rose will be paired with Jordan Spieth (+5000/+5500) and two-time event champion Jason Day (+4000/+4500), who is returning from a back injury.

Tony Finau (+2500 by both books) only has one career PGA Tour win, which came in 2016. But many believe he is due for a prominent breakthrough. He was T13 at Torrey Pines last year and T4 in 2017. He's coming off a T14 at The American Express, where he shot a tourney-low 62 in the second round.

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Tiger Woods plays a tee shot on the 11th hole during The Challenge: Japan Skins golf competition at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Matt Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

The Farmers features the strongest full-field PGA Tour event thus far in 2020. DraftKings is also offering "Top 20" prop bet odds:

Rory McIlroy: -225

Jon Rahm: -186

Tiger Woods: -137

Hideki Matsuyama: +100

Xander Schauffele: +100

Rickie Fowler: +110

Justin Rose: +110

Tony Finau: +130

Gary Woodland: +138

Collin Morikawa: +150

Sungjae Im: +163

Jason Day: +175

Patrick Reed: +175

Scottie Scheffler: +175

FanDuel is offering several off-beat props, including winning odds betting the field without McIlroy, Rahm, Woods, Matsuyama or Rose:

Xander Schauffele: +900

Gary Woodland: +1600

Jason Day: +1600

Rickie Fowler: +1800

Patrick Reed: +1800

Tony Finau: +2000

Brandt Snedeker: +2200

Sungjae Im: +2200

Cameron Smith: +2600

Collin Morikawa: +2600

--Field Level Media

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