SAN DIEGO — After one day of golf at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, Ludvig Åberg has found a grove early, shooting a nine-under 63 and leading the pack by two strokes.
Åberg came out hot, starting on the back nine of the North Course, being four-under through five and then six-under through eight. The key to shooting a six-under front would come on his eighth hole of the day and 17th on the course, which is a getable 520-yard par five. Åberg was one of the four players who were able to card an eagle on the hole on the day after sticking a long iron to the back side of the green and lipping in a 15-footer. Åberg’s round was nearly perfect, with only one bogey on the tough par-four second, which was playing 0.38 strokes above par today. Åberg and his two-shot lead will tee off at 10:29 a.m. on Thursday on hole No. 1 on the more difficult South Course.
Also playing well thus far is The Sentry winner Hideki Matsuyama, who is currently T18 at four-under. Playing on the South Course on Wednesday morning, Matsuyama hopped out of the gates decently with a bogey-free four-under front nine. On the back, he would trade birdies and bogeys on holes 13 and 14 as well as 16 and 17 before entering the clubhouse. With 93 feet of putts made during round one, Matsuyama is averaging 1.6 putts per GIR, which has helped him stay in the hunt despite struggling off the tee box (7/14 fairways). Matsuyama will tee off at 9:23 a.m. on the 10th hole of the North Course.
Not far behind Matsuyama is a large group sitting at three-under, all tied for 29th. Of this group are Joel Dahmen and Keegan Bradley, while fellow American and Los Angeles native Max Homa struggled to find anything.
Joining the tour in 2017, Dahmen has struggled for success with nine top-five finishes out of the 140 cuts that he has made. He is looking to make his first cut of the year after failing at the Sony Open in Hawaii as well as the American Express in Coachella Valley. His day one looked rather promising, with only one bogey and four birdies on the day. As long as he stays out of trouble during day two, it is looking solid for Dahmen to make his first-weekend appearance of the season. Dahmen will tee off on the first hole of the South Course at 10:07 a.m.
The 2025 Ryder Cup Captain, Bradley also shot three-under on Wednesday. His scorecard, though, was anything but steady. Bradley started with a bogey before responding with a birdie and a long series of pars. He birdied his eighth hole — the par-5 17th on the North Course — before giving the stroke back on the second hole to get back to even par. Bradley then found three more birdies on the day to finish at the common three-under marker. Bradley will tee off on the monster South Course at 10:29 a.m. on hole No. 1.
Homa struggled during the first round, starting with carding a seven on the first hole of the tournament, which no doubt is a confidence killer. After the triple-bogey, things got worse before they got slightly better — with another bogey and a double on holes four and five — before carding an eagle on the par-five sixth. On the bright side, Homa was one of two golfers who eagled this hole on the day. Things did not get better for him, but Homa managed an even back-side, which limited the damage to only five-over. He will tee off Thursday at 9:23 a.m. on the 10th hole of the North Course with Matsuyama and Jason Day (+2).
The golfers will swap courses on Thursday, with the cut line looming over many great golfers who are looking for their first win of the season.