Coming off one of his best career weeks on the PGA Tour, Taiwan’s Kevin Yu grabbed the first-round lead at the Farmers Insurance Open on Wednesday in San Diego.
Playing at Torrey Pines’ North Course, Yu racked up eight birdies, five of which came on the back nine, where he began his round. His birdie at the par-5 ninth lifted him above Patrick Cantlay and Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune, who are tied for second after both shot 65s at the North Course.
Cantlay produced birdies on four of his final five holes, while Hisatsune also peaked late, turning in a bogey-free back nine that featured four birdies.
Five golfers are two strokes back in a tie for fourth at 6-under 66. That group includes Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, Ireland’s Shane Lowry, Belgium’s Thomas Detry, England’s Aaron Rai and Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti, all of whom played the North Course.
There is a 10-way tie for ninth.
Yu tied for third last week at The American Express in La Quinta, Calif., matching his best result in 35 career PGA Tour starts. He also tied for third at the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
The momentum from his final-round 63 on Sunday at PGA West carried over to Torrey Pines.
“I’ve been playing very good and like just keep building momentum,” Yu said after his Wednesday round. “I was just trying to play my best today, just trying to hit a lot of fairways, trying to make as many putts as I can. Greens a little bumpy, but I’m just trying to hit like the best stroke I can out there, which I did today. So I feel really good, so really looking forward to tomorrow.”
Cantlay is back in the Farmers Insurance Open for the first time in five years, having missed the cut in two of three prior appearances at the event.
“The (2021) U.S. Open was the last time I played around here and I played so-so at the U.S. Open,” Cantlay said, referring to his tie for 15th. “Obviously different conditions this week, it will be a lot more wet this week. The scores should be quite a bit lower. But you play the golf course from the fairway and you can have a bunch of chances around here.”
Max Homa, the event’s defending champion, carded a 2-under 70 and finds himself in a tie for 48th. Homa played at the South Course.
The players will alternate between the two courses on Wednesday and Thursday, then play the final 36 holes on the South Course. The event concludes on Saturday to avoid a conflict with the NFL conference championship games on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
