Farmers Insurance Open Each-Way Tips: Day can challenge for treble

• 28/1 Jason Day is a course specialist in solid form

• 66/1 Luke List can add to the good record of defending champions

• Two-time Torrey runner-up Ryan Palmer looks value at 100/1

Main Bet: Jason Day each-way @ 29.028/1

This is a Wednesday start. Repeat: this is a Wednesday start.

Yes, NFL scheduling means the annual shootout in San Diego starts a day earlier than usual.

Some quick housekeeping. The easier North Course is in action for one of the four rounds but the main feast takes place at famed Torrey Pines South - a tough par 72 with water guarding the front of 18, one of the most recognisable finishing holes on the PGA Tour.

The greens are West Coast Poa annua which can get bumpy and this is not a putting contest or birdie-fest.

Justin Rose won with 21-under in 2019 but that's the only time in the last 10 years that anyone has bettered 15-under.

Even in 2021 when Patrick Reed took the title with 14-under, he was the only player to shoot double digits under par.

Breaking down the last five years at Torrey Pines, 28 players occupied a top five slot. Only six of those ranked outside the top 20 for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green. By contrast, exactly half (14) were outside the top 20 for Strokes Gained: Putting.

A look through history at Torrey shows the same names cropping up time and time again. Tiger famously won eight times at this venue and past course form is a great pointer.

On paper, Luke List seemed a surprise winner last year but he'd made the top 10 in this event 12 months earlier.

With the above in mind, I'm drawn to Jason Day at 28/1.

The Aussie is a two-time winner of this event (2015 and 2018) but his strong course record doesn't end there.

Day was runner-up in 2014 after a ninth in 2013, made the top five when defending in 2019 and added a third place last year when his form was more patchy than it is now.

The former World No.1 is showing consistency again, a tied 18th at The American Express last week representing a fifth finish of 21st or better in his last six events.

Strong tee-to-green play rather than flashy putting is the bedrock of those good finishes and in four of the five where Strokes Gained was in operation, Day ranked in the top 20 for TTG.

Speaking last week, the 2015 US PGA winner said: "Touch wood, I feel good. I've been feeling great actually for a good long while now. So just been kind of seeing myself healthier. I feel like I'm doing the right things. Not only on the golf course, but off the golf course as well.

"Overall this past six months to a year it's been really, really good for me."

Day used The American Express as a warm-up last year, finishing 49th there before feeling the benefits and banking a top three here.

Therefore, an 18th at La Quinta on Sunday bodes extremely well. Take Day at 28/1.

Next Best: Luke List each-way @ 67.066/1

Day's solid defence after his first win helps steer us towards last year's winner, Luke List.

This is obviously a selective list but there is a history of champions playing well 12 months later.

2012 Brandt Snedeker - runner-up 2013
2014 Scott Stallings - runner-up 2015
2016 Brandt Snedeker - ninth 2017
2018 Jason Day - fifth 2019

And Tiger Woods, of course, made three successful defences at the coastal Californian track where Jon Rahm won the 2021 US Open.

So that brings List into the crosshairs at 66/1.

When the American won here last year and was 10th in 2021, he'd posted a top 25 at The American Express the week before.

So, on first glance, his missed cut last week suggests he's coming in showing less form. But wait...

The cut is made after three rounds in The American Express and his Friday/Saturday scores were 70-66 (136) last year and 68-68 (136) in 2021. Last week? List went one lower after firing 67-68 (135) but was denied a Sunday crack at the PGA West Stadium Course due to a poor opening 73.

So, is his form really that different to last year?

List's only other start of the calendar year produced a decent tied 11th in the Sentry Tournament of Champions where he carded 65-70-66 over the final 54 holes and ranked 2nd for the week in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green - the metric we're looking at closely this week.

He putted well at Torrey last year and feels he's a better putter now. If the long game which he lost for a while gets back to its previous levels, List could be a part of the Sunday story once more.

Final Bet: Ryan Palmer each-way @ 101.0100/1

Tiger's dominance here suggests Jon Rahm could continue to bulldoze everyone out of his way again.

The Spaniard is flying after three straight wins either side of Christmas and victories at the Sentry TOC and The American Express have made him 2-for-2 on the PGA Tour in January.

Rahm won his first PGA Tour title here in 2017 and also came through in dramatic style to land the 2021 US Open at Torrey. In this event, you can add in a second, a third, a fifth and a seventh. No wonder he's just 7/2.

The winner could also come from the next five in the betting - 12/1 Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele and 14/1 Will Zalatoris - but this is an each-way preview so they're not really in my price range.

Instead, I'll jump all the way down to 100/1 and given Ryan Palmer another chance.

I backed Palmer at the Sony, also at 100s, following some enthusiastic noises he made after finishing runner-up in December's low-key QBE Shootout.

Palmer's "can't wait to get to the Sony" cry rather got stuck in his throat when opening with a 1-over 71 but he closed 67-68-65 at Waialae and recorded his best SG: Tee To Green and SG: Approach numbers since July.

In other words, there was an element of walking the walk too.

He's a big fan of this event having finished runner-up in both 2018 and 2021. In fact, look at the last five years here and Palmer's form is right up there: 2-13-21-2-16.

Talking about why he plays well on the South Course, Palmer said a couple of years ago: "When I drive it well here, it sets up these holes for me a lot. I get the putter rolling, I get more confidence. So I love the tee shots, the lines I've got and it's shown these last few years."

Palmer's driving at the Sony Open last time was his best, statistically, since May. He gained just shy of three strokes Off The Tee and ranked 12th in that category.

Things good look for his annual strong display in this event.