Englishman Justin Rose breezed to a bogey-free, 10-under-par 62 to take the first-round lead at the Farmers Insurance Open on Thursday in San Diego.
Rose had five birdies on each nine at Torrey Pines’ North Course and could have tied the course record with a birdie at his final hole, the par-5 ninth. After hitting a greenside bunker, he failed to convert a short birdie putt.
Rose’s 10th birdie at the previous hole — the par-3 eighth, where he stuck his tee shot to a few feet from the pin — moved him past Justin Lower (9 under) for the outright lead. Max Greyserman and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama share third at 8 under.
All four started the tournament on the North Course and will have to face the more challenging South Course on Friday. Everyone in the 147-man field plays one round at each course, then those who make the 36-hole cut spend the weekend on the South Course.
The best round of the day at the South Course belonged to Irishman Seamus Power, who finished at 7-under-par 65 after birdieing the last three holes.
Brooks Koepka shot 1 over at the South Course in his first round back on the PGA Tour. After spending most of the last four years on LIV Golf, Koepka rejoined the PGA Tour this season by mutual agreement that included a financial penalty. This tournament marked his first start in a non-major on tour since March 2022.
Koepka did not make a birdie until the par-5 18th, where he overshot the green on his second stroke but chipped to within 8 feet.
“I didn’t hit enough fairways,” said Koepka, who made just six of 14 fairways in regulation. “If I was able to get to the back of the ball, I felt like I hit a good quality shot. Didn’t really make any putts besides 18 right there.
“Yeah, it felt good. It’s been a while since I played competitive golf, so I like the way I’m playing, I just need to kind of play my way into it.”
The five-time major winner wasn’t the only marquee name who struggled on the South Course. Xander Schauffele also opened with a 1-over 73 there, as did defending champion Harris English. Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, a top 20 player in the world rankings, parred his first hole before registering five bogeys in a row. He landed in a tie for last at 6-over 78.
Rose, 45, won this tournament in 2019 and continues to enjoy a late-career renaissance, having pushed Rory McIlroy to a playoff at the 2025 Masters before going on to win the first FedEx Cup playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
“It feels like a similar weather week to when I won (in 2019), you know, and I feel like it was the kind of week that you had to kind of keep going low and keep playing well,” Rose said. “I think I got it to 21 under par at some point during the tournament, so you know this tournament can also be a tournament where you feel like 9, 10, 11 under par’s a really good week.
“So it will be interesting to see how the course plays, if the greens get really firm on the South over the weekend makes it always tough. So it’s going to be a balance of being able to play some great golf because of the conditions, but also respecting a major championship-style track.”
Before Rose, Lower boasted the round of the day thanks to eagles at the par-5 17th and ninth holes, finishing on the latter.
“(I) chipped in on 17 and then once I started hitting fairways, it got a little easier from there,” Lower said. “… And then 9 I just, I mean, I hit a really good tee shot, was almost a little too close. Then was able to kind of feather a 5-wood in there and had 27 feet and was able to make it. Just some of it’s luck, some of it’s good golf.”
Lower, 36, hunts for his first PGA Tour win as does Greyserman, who has compiled five runner-up finishes in his young career. The 29-year-old was 9 under before making his only bogey on the 18th hole.
“You’ve really got to take advantage of that North Course out in this tournament,” Greyserman said. “I think I saw a stat last week that the lower you shoot on the North Course, it gives you a big advantage obviously because the South is tougher.”
–Field Level Media
