Justin Rose sets new 36-hole record at Torrey Pines, leading by 4 strokes.
SAN DIEGO — Justin Rose performed exceptionally well on the challenging South course on Friday during the Farmers Insurance Open, as evidenced by the tournament record book. He surpassed his own 36-hole record by two strokes at Torrey Pines, establishing a four-shot advantage.
This weekend will feature Brooks Koepka, making his return to the PGA Tour after four years with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League. The five-time major champion continues to struggle with the poa annua greens, finishing with a 68 on the more forgiving North course to barely make the cut.
Absent from the competition will be Xander Schauffele, the two-time major champion and San Diego native, who saw his streak of 72 consecutive tournaments making the cut come to an end. His last time off during a tournament was at the 2022 Masters.
Koepka found himself 14 strokes behind. The current question is whether anyone can close the gap on Rose.
Rose began with a 62 on the North course, which was 7.139 strokes better than the field average. He was aware of the challenges posed by the South course — a venue for two U.S. Opens — and ultimately recorded a 7-under 65, which was 7.392 strokes lower than the field average.
This contributed to a total of 17-under 127, breaking the previous record held by Rose in 2019, Tom Lehman in 2005, and Lennie Clements in 1996 by two strokes, and giving him a four-shot lead over Ireland’s Séamus Power, who shot a 66 on the North.
Remarkably, this was the same score that led after 36 holes in The American Express the previous week. PGA Tour events in Palm Springs and San Diego are distinctly different. Rose is performing at a high level.
Joel Dahmen, who qualified for Torrey Pines due to the larger-than-normal field allowed by the two courses, recorded three eagles in his round of 63 on the North and joined Max McGreevy (67 on North) in a tie for third, six strokes back.
Rose acknowledged that he was aware of the tougher challenge he faced on Friday. He only needed to glance at the leaderboard to see the many names listed with “NC” for North Course to understand the situation.
“I don’t go into a deep dive, but I kind of saw the ‘NC, NC, NC, NC, NC, NC, NC’ on the leaderboard, so by process of elimination, I kind of knew what I was facing today,” he remarked.
“In some ways I was using that as extra patience, obviously being 10 under already,” he added. “It’s a tough situation when you don’t have a great day on the North and then you have to go and find a score on the South. So I had the added benefit of being able to go and play the South I thought with the right mindset to play it, which is kind of respectfully.”
He found his rhythm early with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 third and then a challenging 10-footer for par on the fourth. He was seeing his lines clearly and watching the ball go in, which provided a sense of freedom, allowing him to build momentum from there.
Rose struck a long iron to pin-high, 8 feet away for eagle on the par-5 sixth, finished the back nine with two birdies, and maintained his strong performance throughout.
The cut was set at 3-under 141.
“I’ll tell you, that’s good golf,” stated Power, who made a lengthy eagle putt to conclude his round on the North. “You could shoot 2 under and play pretty well here. It’s just the standard is high.”
Koepka received another warm welcome on a beautiful day along the San Diego coast, with pleasant sunshine and a clear blue sky, yielding more under-par scores than typically seen at Torrey.
Koepka needed to improve his round, and he started strong with a mid-iron to 12 feet for eagle on the par-5 eighth hole. He birdied the par-5 fifth hole and capitalized on the short par-4 seventh to create some breathing room.
He does not play merely to make the cut, but he aimed to continue competing.
“I think yesterday I was excited to play — nervous, and kind of didn’t know what to expect – but today felt more normal, I guess,” Koepka explained. “Don’t get me wrong – I definitely still got antsy. Maybe a little bit of nerves just trying to figure it out and see where my game’s at, too, right? I feel like I’m playing really well. It’s just been a long layoff.”
Schauffele was coming off a victory in Japan in the fall, the only tournament he participated in as he wanted to be home with his son born about five months ago. He made a bogey due to some unfortunate bounces and lies on the short par-4 seventh on the North, and then nearly executed a very challenging shot behind the green to a back pin on the par-5 ninth, his final hole. He missed the birdie putt from 8 feet that would have allowed him to advance to the weekend.
Scottie Scheffler now holds the longest active cut streak at 65, still not halfway to the record of 142 held by Tiger Woods.
