Golf Tips: Best bets for this week's Farmers Insurance Open and Bahrain Championship

• Steve Rawlings previews and provides weekend in-play blog

• Check out Steve's outsiders to back at 100/1101.00 and bigger

• Dave Tindall has e/w and first round leader tips

• Andy Swales brings course info and form players

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Farmers Insurance Open tips and predictions

The Punter's Preview: Gerard the sole selection at 43/1

Steve Rawlings: With only Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg and Cameron Young trading at less than 32.0, this is a wide-open event and one I'm in no rush to get involved in.

Aberg's liking for the venue is a huge plus, but he withdrew from the American Express due to illness last week so I'm happy to swerve him before the off and my sole selection is last week's fancy, Ryan Gerard, who finished second again for the third tournament in-a-row.

Now up to number 24 in the Official World rankings, Gerard is in the form of his life. The hot streak will come to and end sooner or later, but he was 15^th on debut here 12 months ago having finished only 37^th at the Sony Open and 51^st in the American Express so after two second placed finishes in those events this year, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see him contend again here.

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Each-Way Picks:  Seize the Day at 22/1

Dave Tindall: This time last week, I wouldn't have expected to have Jason Day as a headline pick but then came his joint-second place finish in The American Express. The most notable aspect of that and something which bodes well for this week is that the Aussie did by far his best work on the toughest of the three layouts - the Pete Dye Stadium Course.

The average score at the Stadium was 70.76 during the first three rounds - around three shots harder than La Quinta and the Nicklaus Tournament. Day's two rounds there? 63 on day one and 64 on day four. If you want another way of framing it, on The American Express's toughest track, Day outshot four-shot winner Scottie Scheffler by seven strokes!

Day ranked 1st for both SG: Putting and Around The Green at The American Express. He was 3rd Tee To Green and 18th for Approach.  As well as his two wins at Torrey Pines (2015 and 2018), he has a second, a third (2022), a fifth, a seventh (2023) and a ninth.

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Find Me a 100 Winner: Sam the man at a huge price

Steve Rawlings: It's impossible to make a case for Sami Valimaki on the strength of last week's missed cut in the American Express but if we can forgive his 2026 pipe opener, there's a lot to like about the 27-year-old Finn.

Valimaki, who has won twice on the DP World Tour, finished 2025 off in style on the PGA Tour, finishing second in the World Wide Technology Championship and 18^th in Bermuda before winning the RSM Classic in convincing fashion in the final event of the year.

This is his third appearance in the Farmers Insurance Open and it's a tournament he's shown a liking to already.

He finished 43^rd on debut two years ago after missed cuts in the Sony Open and the American Express and 15^th last year after another weekend off at the American Express.

Last week's event is clearly not to his liking so we can expect a big improvement here and with the assignment of the recently favourable North Course-South Course draw rotation over the first two days, he looks overpriced.

As many as six of the last seven winners have begun the event on the North Course so that looks a great place to start for the improving Finn.

Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.09/1 and 12 Us @ 2.01/1

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Course and current form stats

Course Form Pick

The Californian looks set to start the event as co-favourite and a quick look at his record at Torrey shows why - he finished ninth two years ago, 13th in 2023 and second in 2021. The market indicates that he is in a prime position to deliver.

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Bahrain Championship tips and predictions

The Punter's Preview: Take a chance on Rozner at 43/1

Steve Rawlings: Last year's winner, Laurie Canter, only ranked 19^th for Driving Distance but two of the four men to finish a shot shy of the three-man playoff, Spaniards Ivan Cantero and David Puig, ranked second and fifth for DD.

Although the three playoff protagonists only ranked 13^th, eighth and 28^th for Greens In Regulation last year, they ranked second, 17^th and first for Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and the winner in 2024, Frittelli, also ranked first for Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green so that looks a key stat...

Following a top 10 finish in the Dubai Invitational, the 32-year-old Frenchman, Antoine Rozner, missed the cut last week after he left himself too much to do with a 75 on Thursday but I was happy to chance him modestly here at 44.0.

With victories in the Golf in Dubai Championship in 2020, the Qatar Masters in 2021 and the Mauritius Open in 2022, Rozner has the perfect profile for this event, and he proved his liking for the layout with a 12^th place finish in his only course appearance two years ago.

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First Round Leader Tips: Repeat on the cards for BRT

Dave Tindall: Brandon Robinson-Thompson gave us some each-way returns at last month's Alfred Dunhill Championship when, tipped at 80s for FRL, he opened with a 65 to sit fifth after day one. BRT was on the radar due to twice being a first-round leader earlier in the season.

The most remarkable of those came in this event when he shot a sensational 61 to smash the course record and lead by three after 18 holes. He eventually finished eighth.

The other day one lead came a week later at the Qatar Masters in Doha - he opened with a 66 before finishing third - so there's something he clearly likes about these open visuals and style of golf.

While the Englishman missed the cut in Dubai last week, he shot six shots lower in round two (70 compared to a Thursday 76) so hopefully he can kick on further here. Robinson-Thompson, a morning starter last year when he fired that 61, goes off early from the 10th at 07:10. 

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Course and form stats

Current Form Pick

It is not difficult to see why the South African is set to start as the favourite this week. His form is almost irresistible after last week's fourth-place finish signalled to his rivals that it may not be long before he adds to the consecutive wins he notched up in December. As for world ranking points accumulated since the start of autumn, he leads the way comfortably.

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Now read an early preview of US Masters 2026 with three bets from Dave Tindall

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