SAN DIEGO (AP) — Ludvig Åberg shot a 9-under 63 Wednesday in what he calls his favorite place in the world, taking a two-shot lead over Danny Walker and Hayden Springer in the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey . Pines.
Åberg took the lead in the first round of the PGA Tour for the first time after recording the best first round score of his short career. The 25-year-old Swede capitalized on the easier North Course at Torrey Pines, hitting 16 of 18 regulation greens while making eight birdies and an eagle on the coastal links.
“I like when you hit a lot of drivers, and I feel like I did that a lot today, and I’ll probably do the same thing tomorrow,” Åberg said. “(I love) any golf course when it looks like this, when you have the view, and Torrey Pines is a really, really cool place.”
Walker, 25, was outstanding in his fourth career PGA Tour start. He had the best run of the first day on the more difficult South course, where the average score was 72.487 compared to 70.218 on the North course.
Walker and Springer finished one stroke ahead of Lanto Griffin, Zac Blair, Zach Johnson, 48, and Aldrich Potgieter, 20, who all played on the North Course.
Will Zalatoris withdraws from Farmers Insurance Open 2025 shortly before first round tee time
Steven Tarento
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, the top-ranked player in the field and winner of the Sentry at Kapalua, shot a 68 on the South Course.
Åberg, 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 winning the tour’s Rookie of the Year award in 2023, he went winless last year despite six top-five finishes, including runner-up finishes at the Masters, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the BMW Championship.
While many top players are not at Torrey Pines this week, Åberg was eager to get to the beautiful coastal course, calling San Diego “my favorite place in the world” earlier this week.
Åberg also said he would love for the Genesis Invitational to take place here in three weeks. The tournament is expected to announce its 2025 headquarters shortly after being moved away from Riviera Country Club due to the deadly wildfires that destroyed part of Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood near the famous course.
“I haven’t had any problems since the operation, so it’s really nice,” Åberg said. “I think Maui was the ultimate test for that. I had some blisters on my feet. That’s another story, but the knee held up well. I’m really looking forward to getting back and playing a lot of tournaments. .. I’m looking forward to a great round of golf.
Walker, a rookie who earned his PGA Tour card on the Korn Ferry Tour, had a bogey-free round after missing his first two cuts of the season.
Johnson hasn’t won on tour since the 2015 British Open at St. Andrews, but he started impressively at Torrey Pines after receiving a sponsor’s exemption.
Defending champion Matthieu Pavon shot a 73 on the South course.
This famous San Diego North Shore tournament has fewer stars than usual this year. World No. 2 and San Diego native Xander Schauffele did not enter, while fifth-ranked Collin Morikawa, a Southern California native, withdrew on Sunday, followed by former Torrey Pines finalist Will Zalatoris, Wednesday morning.
The Farmers Insurance Open begins on a Wednesday and ends on a Saturday to avoid a final round conflict with the NFL conference championship games.
