Patrick Reed and Alex Noren sat tied atop the leaderboard after the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open Thursday at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Both shot 8-under 64 while playing Torrey Pines’ north course. Scottie Scheffler shot a 7-under 65 to come in third, while 12 golfers, including Gary Woodland, tied for fourth at 6-under.
Reed holds the 11th spot in the Official World Golf Rankings, while Noren is at 96th and Scheffler at 33rd.
Last year’s champion, Marc Leishman, along with San Diego native Phil Mickelson and Torrey Pines High grad Pat Perez, tied for 69th place, shooting 1-under 71.
Among other notables’ and locals’ performances:
- Jon Rahm, the 2017 Open champ, and Jordan Spieth tied for 32nd at 3-under 69.
- San Diego State alum Xander Schaffele tied for 48th at 2-under 70, along with Murrieta native Rickie Fowler and 19 others.
- Kyle Mendoza of Oceanside, shot a 1-over 73 to tie for 107th place, while J.J. Spaun, also of SDSU, shot a 2-over 74 for 119th place.
- Jason Day, the 2015 and 2018 Open champ, was far behind, in 136th place, after a 4-over 76.
In addition, Matthew Wolfe withdrew from the Open, citing a hand injury, according to PGATour.com.
A storm threatens to interrupt Friday’s second round as heavy rain is forecast for the morning, with showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon, according to PGA Tour meteorologist Stewart Williams.
Under PGA Tour rules, play would be stopped only if conditions are unplayable. That includes water puddling on the greens or if there is lightning in the immediate vicinity.
“I put myself in position today where I had to go out knowing that we’re going to get pretty good conditions, go out and try to make as many birdies as possible to be able to kind of weather the storm tomorrow,” Reed told the Associated Press.
Fans may not attend the open because of the coronavirus pandemic.
