usatoday24
SAN DIEGO — Ludvig Aberg shot a 9-under 63 Wednesday at what he calls his favorite place in the world, taking a two-shot lead over Danny Walker and Hayden Springer in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open in Torrey Pins.
Aberg took the lead in a PGA Tour first round for the first time, after posting the best opening score of his young career. The 25-year-old Swede took advantage of playing the easiest North Course at Torrey Pines, hitting 16 of 18 greens while notching eight birdies and an eagle on the coastal course.
“I like when you hit a lot of drives, and I feel like I did that a lot today, and I’ll probably do the same thing tomorrow,” Aberg said. “I love any golf course when it looks like that, when you have the views, and Torrey Pines is a really great place.”
Walker, 25, was outstanding in his fourth appearance on the Tour. He recorded the best round of the opening day on the more difficult South Course, where the stroke average was 72.487 compared to 70.218 on the North.
Walker and Springer finished one stroke ahead of Lanto Griffin, Zac Blair, 48-year-old Zach Johnson and 20-year-old Aldrich Potgieter. They all played on the North Field.
The Japanese Hideki Matsuyama, the highest ranked among those present at the tournament and winner at The Sentry in Kapalua, shot a 68 in the South.
Aberg, who finished ninth last year in his debut at Torrey Pines, began the new season with a fifth-place finish at Maui after undergoing knee surgery last fall. After earning the Tour’s rookie of the year award in 2023, he went winless last year despite placing in the top five six times, including runner-up finishes at the Masters, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the BMW Championship.
The Farmers Insurance Open begins on a Wednesday and ends on a Saturday to avoid a final-round conflict with the conference finals in the NFL.
___
This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings