Greetings again, Torrey Pines. The annual host of the Farmers Insurance Open is back on duty this week for The Genesis Invitational, but only its South Course will be used for the 72-man field of the Signature Event.

When the much easier North Course co-hosted the Farmers three weeks ago, JP15 finished atop the overall standings in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by Superstore with 458 points. That’s easily the lowest winning total of the six completed tournaments, and it makes sense because the South Course averaged 1.685 strokes over par for the week, also easily the hardest of 10 courses utilized in 2025.

Before you expect fantasy scoring to drop even further with the North Course omitted, remember that FedExCup bonus points are beefed up for the Signature Event. Instead of 500 to the winner, this week’s champ will bank 700. If he’s your captain, that’s 140 contributing instead of 100.

That alone is enough reason to stick with a majority of chalk. Chase the final result on the leaderboard for the FedExCup bonus points because round-by-round fantasy scoring will be muted and essentially negligible. You’re not going to feel much until the bonus points are added.

While it rarely affects considerations among the chalk, keep in mind that there is a cut after two rounds of low 50 plus ties and all golfers within 10 strokes of the lead.

Captain

Rory McIlroy owns the No. 1 position in my Power Rankings, and deservedly so. He won his season debut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and has expressed how impressed he was with Scottie Scheffler’s nine-win 2024. Everyone was, but I’m reading additional motivation into that. For some time now, McIlroy has needed special challenges to trigger his best to perform. He’s curious like that. While the bounce in his step returned when he simplified things outside the ropes, he now basks in a fresh season that yields the opportunity to focus on his own mammoth output.

All that said ...

Scottie Scheffler … Quite simply, I’m not overthinking the world No. 1 despite his T9-T25 to start the season on the heels of the hand injury. I’m also dismissing his sloppy inward nine at TPC Scottsdale on Sunday, which eliminated another top 10. It happens.

Find comfort in his domination. Consider that his margin of 5.5279 points over Xander Schauffele, who is No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking, would rank sixth in the world.

Although McIlroy is a wonderfully-timed alternative, go ahead and let others worry about Scheffler. The perception that the sky might be falling also is wonderfully timed ... for the rest of us.

Other considerations

• Rory McIlroy … See above.
• Collin Morikawa … No. 2 in my Power Rankings. If we were deeper into the season and I was in need of a calculated boost, he’d be tough to dismiss, but I’ve almost always played the long game with resolve.

Rounding out the roster

With six tournaments in the books, we’re far enough along that some separation has occurred in the ranks. Front-runners can lean on their leads and play somewhat conservatively, all the while keeping the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in mind as a wall of defense to conclude Segment 1 on top. At the same time, gamers in pursuit benefit from the smaller field of a Signature Event with juicier FedExCup bonus points. To generate a little action, a sound plan is to stick with chalk for your captain and maybe three others while allowing yourself to be friskier with the other two.

My starters

• Sungjae Im
• Rory McIlroy
• Collin Morikawa
• Scottie Scheffler (C)

My bench

• Taylor Pendrith (1)
• Ludvig Åberg (2)

Careful

For almost every tournament, a usually impressive subset of the field warrants avoiding, and it might be represented in my Power Rankings which is not written in the context of any fantasy golf format. In this section, I single out who demands pause and why.

Thomas Detry … It’s usually wise to abstain from the winner of last week’s tournament for reasons of physical and emotional fatigue, but that potential headwind can be intensified if the winner is a first-timer. While he’s No. 10 in my Power Rankings, it’s even easier to shop elsewhere in the stacked field.

Harris English ... For winning four consecutive majors across two years, Tiger Woods achieved the "Tiger Slam," but he also picked off two victories at Torrey Pines in the same season, first at the Farmers Insurance Open and then at the U.S. Open, both in 2008. English is vying to be the second member of that club. Although he’s No. 13 in the Power Rankings, to a man, it’s a tall task to expect him to win again so soon, much less contend.

Patrick Cantlay ... If he squints and sees the U.S. Open setup on which he hung up a T15 on Torrey Pines in 2021, then he’ll resonate, but for the Farmers specifically, he’s just 2-for-4 and without a top 50. For a talent proven to excel almost everywhere, that record isn’t inspiring.

Sahith Theegala ... I'm not worried whatsoever about him in the long term, but he’s off to a funky start to this season. He’s cashed in all five tournaments in which he’s competed but has yet to record a top 35. And since opening his career at Torrey Pines with a T25 and a T4 in 2022 and 2023, respectively, he’s settled for a pair of finishes outside the top 50 in the last two editions.

Returning to competition

Ludvig Åberg … Withdrew before his second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Jan. 31 due to an illness that also bothered him the week prior at Torrey Pines. In a vacuum, he’d be in the Power Rankings without a second thought. Finished T9 in his debut at Torrey Pines last year, so if you don’t mind trusting that he’s healthy again, sprinkle him throughout all of your investments as a rare contrarian.

J.J. Spaun ... Had to exit the WM Phoenix Open before the second round because of an illness. He was off to a fast start and currently sits 26th in the FedExCup, but he hasn’t rested since opening the season on Oahu. He gained entry into The Genesis Invitational via the Aon Swing 5, so you know that he doesn’t want to squander the opportunity to see what happens, but he’s too risky to expect a second wind.

Rickie Fowler ... An illness knocked him out after an opening 74 at TPC Scottsdale last week. You know it was a doozy because it was his first mid-tournament withdrawal in 348 career starts on the PGA TOUR. Last played Torrey Pines in 2023 and placed T11, but that was his first top-50 finish in 10 appearances.

Notable W/Ds

Tiger Woods ... The tournament host opted out on Monday.

Chris Kirk … Missed the cut at the WM Phoenix Open by six strokes to drop to 3-for-5 on the season and still without a top 30. The good news is that he has carte blanche scheduling power thanks to advancing to the TOUR Championship last year. He’ll be in all of the majors, too.

For resources to overcome a gambling problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER today.