Justin Rose led the Farmers Insurance Open with a dazzling 10-under 62 on the North Course at Torrey Pines, while Brooks Koepka sealed his return to the PGA Tour with an opening 73.
Rose had 10 birdies yet to be answered, giving the 45-year-old a one-stroke lead over his wife, Justin Lower, who is now 34 weeks pregnant and expecting twins.
“It’s fun, I think I managed it really, really well today,” Ryder Cup star Rose told the PGA Tour website. “I felt like I was reading and putting phenomenally, like I could see the green really, really well.
“But I can’t say I ever felt like I was in complete cruise control. I didn’t have any issues, but some days I was hitting 10 under par and every shot was coming out the way I saw it, the way I intended it to. Today, I probably only had three or four shots that felt exactly like I had planned.
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Justin Rose reflects on his performance after day one of the Farmers Insurance Open.
“But it was a good round of golf. The North Course is a course you think you should be able to go to, but it’s actually grown a few teeth over the years.
“You have to play well and get the ball in play, and I did a reasonable job. I got momentum when I needed it, hit the odd good iron shot, hit the odd 20-footer, and before I knew it, I was 5, 6, 7 under.”
All of the better scores came on the North Course, where Ireland’s Seamus Power shot a 7-under 65, the lowest round on the South Course and took fifth place.
After Koepka agreed a year ago to be released from his contract with the Saudi breakaway LIV Golf Series at the end of the 2025 season, the PGA Tour introduced a hastily drafted returning member program to reaccommodate the five-time major winner.
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Brooks Koepka reflected on his first day back on the PGA Tour after leaving LIV Golf.
Koepka, who joined LIV in 2022, started with the South Course and made three pars, then dropped one stroke on the 4th hole, failed to get a birdie chance on the 9th hole, and entered the turn with 1 over par.
Koepka overshot the green in the par-5 13th hole and made another bogey, narrowly missed a birdie opportunity in the par-3 16th hole, and sank the fourth shot in the last hole to record a one-over round.
“I fell in love with the game again,” Koepka told reporters. “I wanted to see my son play a little bit, see myself play well, and realize how much this game has given me and how much fun it is.
“It was great to hear, ‘Welcome back.’ It was in almost every hall.”
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Tony Finau made a spectacular hole-in-one at the California Farmers Insurance Open on the 16th.
Elsewhere, Tony Finau recorded his first hole-in-one of the PGA Tour season on Thursday when he won the par-3 16th hole at Torrey Pines’ South Course.
It was Finau’s fourth hole-in-one in 285 appearances on tour and his first since the second round of the 2025 Valero Texas Open.
Who will win the Farmers Insurance Open? Watch live on Sky Sports seven days a week. Early coverage continues on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm on Friday, with full coverage from 8pm. Get Sky Sports now or stream with no contract.
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