Three golfers, including top-ranked Jon Rahm, rose to take over the top spot Thursday after the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Rahm, who won the Farmers Open five years ago, was joined by Adam Schenk and Justin Thomas, each at 13-under for the tournament.
In the second round:
- Rahm: Improved with a 7-under 65.
- Schenk: Logged one of the two best scores Thursday with a 10-under 62. He was one shot off the course record of 61.
- Thomas: Nearly matched Schenk with a 9-under 63.
“Nothing was really bad, I feel like everything was feeling good, everything was coming out and feeling the way it should and it showed in the score,” Rahm said of his first-round play.
Cameron Tringale followed in fourth place, one shot off the pace, with Peter Malnati just behind. Alex Smalley, who matched Schenk in Thursday’s round, was in a six-way tie for sixth.
Billy Horschel, the first-day leader, fell into a tie for 12th after shooting a 1-over 73 Thursday. He had equaled his lowest score in his 282 starts on the PGA Tour in the first round, on the strength of a bogey-free 9-under 63, with back-to-back birdies on the first and second holes.
Meanwhile, several notables in the 156-player field did not make the cut, including a San Diego favorite son, Phil Mickelson. He stood at 3-over after two days of play, on the same day he was named one of three 2021 Players of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America.
Rickie Fowler, who hails from Murrieta, was in fifth place Wednesday, also fell off drastically, and will not play Friday and Saturday. German Stephan Jaeger, in third Wednesday, just missed out, like Fowler, at 2-under for the first two rounds.
Other top golfers who exited include Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Hudson Swafford, who won last weekend’s PGA tourney in La Quinta.
Three other locals, 2020 Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele and J.J. Spaun, both San Diego State graduates, and Pat Perez, out of Torrey Pines High School, remain in the field:
- Spaun: Tied for 35th, eight shots behind the leaders.
- Schauffele and Perez: tied for 50th, nine shots behind.
“I think it’s gonna take two ridiculously low historic rounds for me to be in contention, but I’m here to give it a shot,” Schauffele said, according to NBC San Diego.
The golfers who played the South Course on Wednesday played the North Course Thursday, and vice versa. The final two rounds will be played on the South Course.
Play is expected to end at approximately 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
– Staff and wire reports