San Diego – Justin Rose had birdie chances on all but one hole Thursday and turned that into a 10-under 62 on the easier North course at Torrey Pines, giving him a one-shot lead in the Farmers Insurance Open on a day that marked the return of Brooks Koepka from LIV Golf.
Koepka garnered so much of the attention under the brilliant sunshine along the Pacific Coast, the first PGA Tour member to leave for the Saudi-funded rival league only to get out of his contract with one year left and be allowed to return.
Farmers Insurance Open scoreboard
Koepka didn’t make a birdie until his final hole on the tougher South course for a 1-over 73 and was happy to get that first round behind him.
“From the first tee on, it was great. It actually made me settle down a little bit,” Koepka said. “Like I said, it made me feel good just to be out here.”
Rose missed the cut in his 2026 debut in The American Express last week. While the North course is easier, his game was sharp. Even without birdies on two of the par 5s, he still posted a great score before he heads to the South.
Justin Lower, on edge with his wife at home about to give birth to twins, had a 63 on the North. Hideki Matsuyama and Max Greyserman each had a 64.
Seamus Power had the low score at 65 on the South course, which has hosted two U.S. Opens and played to an average score of 72.482. The average score on the North was 69.139. Of the 22 players at 67 or lower, only Power and Max McGreevy (66) were on the South.
“North Course clearly is one that you want to try to make the most of and it’s great to do that today for sure,” Rose said.
He made par from the fairway on his closing hole at the par-5 ninth, finding a bunker, blasting out to about 4 feet and missing the birdie putt. But he only scrambled for once, on the 451-yard 14th hole and kept a clean card.
Lower lost his full card last year when the PGA Tour reduced full status to the top 100 on the FedEx Cup, down from 125 in previous years. Lower got into Torrey Pines because of the 147-man field over two courses, so this about making the most of an opportunity.
And what a time. He already has a 3-year-old. Now his wife is about to deliver twins.
“If I’m being really truthful with everyone, my mind’s not really here,” Lower said. “My wife is 34 weeks pregnant with twins and I’m just trying to get home on Monday to try to help everything out as much as I can. Luckily we have family close and everything. Yeah, she’s going through it right now. Life’s about to get real if it wasn’t real already.”
Xander Schauffele, who was born across the road from Torrey Pines, played for the first time since he won in Japan last fall. He has the longest active cut streak at 72 and was on the ropes early on the South, 3 over for his round through 11 holes.
But he made birdie from a fairway bunker on the 12th hole, hit the pin with a shot from the back bunker to set up birdie on the par-5 13th and ended his round with a chip that struck the pin on the 18th when it the golf ball was rolling at flag speed.
It added to a 73, just above average considering how hard the South played.
“I was happy with the fight,” Schauffele said. “But I only hit three fairways, and the North course also is hard from the rough. Any of those guys at 8 or 9 under on the North are hitting more than two or three fairways.”
And with that he was off to the range.
Koepka said he was nervous on the first tee on the South, not knowing what kind of response he would get from the crowd after defecting to LIV Golf. He hit a 301-yard drive and an approach to 10 feet, two of his best shots of the way.
But his birdie chances were limited – certainly not as many as Rose on the North – and he was 1 over on the par 5s until an 8-foot birdie putt on the last hole.
He looked forward to the next three days. That starts with getting to the weekend.
LPGA Tournament of Champions
Orlando, Fla. – Nasa Hataoka of Japan shot 6-under 66 and had a one-shot lead over LPGA player of the year Jeeno Thitikul, Chanettee Wannasaen, Lottie Woad and Linn Grant following the first round of the season-opening Tournament of Champions.
Hataoka played the back nine at chilly Lake Nona Golf & Country in 4 under to pick up where she left off at the end of last season. She won the Japan Classic in a playoff with Yuna Araki in November for her first LPGA victory in nearly three years.
Thitikul is coming off not just her best season but one of the best in LGPA history.
She won the the Tour Championship in November for her third win of the year, finished second at The Evian Championship and fourth at the Women’s PGA Championship, and the Thai star ended up with the lowest scoring averaging in the tour’s 75-year history.
Thitikul had six birdies and a bogey Thursday to once again climb the leaderboard in a tournament open to LPGA winners from the past two seasons. Wannasaen had seven birdies during her round of 67, Grant birdied her last two holes to match them at 5 under, and Woad reached 6 under before a bogey at the par-4 finishing hole dropped her back.
Nelly Korda was joined by Amy Yang and Linn Grant another shot back.
The highlight for Korda, who finished second at the Tournament of Champions last year, came on the 406-yard, par-4 seventh. Her approach from the middle of the fairway bounced onto the green, rolled toward the hole and bounced off the flagstick, leaving her a tap-in birdie. Korda eventually reached 6 under before a couple of late bogeys left her with a round of 68.
Defending champion A Lim Kim was in a group at 3 under that included Lydia Ko and Ingrid Lindblad.
Reed opens with 71 at Bahrain Championship
Al Mazrowiah, Bahrain – Patrick Reed decided to extend his Middle East stay and then salvaged a 1-under 71 in the Bahrain Championship, where Alejandro Del Rey and Freddy Schott shared the lead at 65 when the first round was halted by darkness on Thursday.
Reed, who won the Dubai Desert Classic and then chose to leave LIV Golf so he can return to the PGA Tour, entered next week’s Qatar Masters. That would give him four straight starts in the Middle East to start the year on the European tour.
His goal now is to finish high enough in the Race to Dubai – he currently is No. 2 – to earn full status on the PGA Tour in 2027.
Reed was 1 over until birdies on consecutive par 5s on the back nine, both times hitting wedge to tap-in range to get his round back under par.
Laurie Canter, who gave up a PGA Tour card to join LIV, was among those one shot behind.
Former Auburn star Valdes has cancer
Former Auburn star Brendan Valdes said Wednesday he has been diagnosed with cancer and will step away from his first full season on the Korn Ferry Tour for treatment.
Valdes, No. 2 in the PGA Tour University ranking last summer to earn a full exemption on the Korn Ferry Tour, posted on social media that he was diagnosed with primary mediastinal lymphoma.
The 22-year-old said he already has completed his first round of chemotherapy. While it is an aggressive form of lymphoma, the recovery rate is high with proper treatment and Valdes was hopeful of returning to golf this year.
“Life, like golf, is often unpredictable,” Valdes wrote. “A month ago, I was preparing for the start of my first full season on the Korn Ferry Tour when, during a medical exam, a mass was discovered in my chest. … While a long journey lies ahead, my treatments should have me back on the golf course and completely healthy this year.”
From Orlando, Florida, Valdes was an All-American at Auburn and played a key role when the Tigers won the NCAA title in 2024. He tied for third in the Price Cutter Charity Championship during his partial year on the Korn Ferry Tour last year after he finished school. He also made the cut in all three PGA Tour events he played, the best a tie for 20th in the 3M Open in Minnesota.
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