Over the weekend, Brooks Koepka returns to the PGA Tour after four seasons in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League. The five-time champion remains baffled by the poa annua greens, settling for a 68 in the easier north to lower the tally.
Missing will be Xander Schauffele, the two-time major champion and San Diego native who saw his 72-tournament streak come to an end. His last free weekend at a tournament was the 2022 Masters.
Koepka was 14 shots behind. The question now is whether anyone can catch Rose.
Rose opened with a 62 at North, which was 7,139 shots lower than the field average. He knew what awaited him on the South course — the site of two U.S. Opens — and finished with a 7-under 65 that was 7,392 shots lower than the field average.
It added to a 17-under 127 – better than twice the previous best set by Rose in 2019, Tom Lehman in 2005 and Lennie Clements in 1996 – and a four-shot lead over Ireland’s Seamus Power, who had a 66 in the north.
Amazingly, it was the same score for the 36-hole lead at The American Express last week. PGA Tour golf in Palm Springs and San Diego are nothing alike. Rose is playing so well.
Joel Dahmen, who entered Torrey Pines because two lanes allow for a larger-than-normal field, had three eagles in his round of 63 on the North and joined Max McGreevy (67 on the North) in a tie for third, six shots behind.
Rose said he was aware he faced a stronger test on Friday. He only had to look at the leaderboard to see North Course – NC – listed next to so many names to figure that out.
“I’m not going to dive deep, but I saw the ‘NC, NC, NC, NC, NC, NC, NC’ on the leaderboard, so by process of elimination I kind of knew what I was up against today,” he said.
“In some ways I used that as extra patience because obviously I was already ten under 10,” he said. “It’s a tough situation when you don’t have a great day in the North and then you have to go find a score in the South. So I had the added benefit of being able to go and play against the South, I thought with the right mentality to play it, which is a bit respectful.”
He found his groove early with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 third and then a tough 10-footer for par on the fourth. He saw his lines. He saw the ball go in. It gave a feeling of freedom, and from there he took off.
Rose hit the long iron to pin-high eight feet away for Eagle on the par-5 sixth, closed the back nine with two birdies and never really let go.
Abe Arredondo/Abe Arredondo-Imagn images
The cut dropped to 3-under 141.
“I’ll tell you, that’s good golf,” said Power, who made a long eagle putt to end his round on the north. “You could shoot here at 2 under and play quite well. The level is just high.”
Koepka was once again warmly welcomed on a day as beautiful as the San Diego coast has to offer, with warm sunshine and blue skies and more sub-par reds than Torrey typically produces.
Koepka needed a better round and he got himself off to a good start with a mid-iron to 12 feet for eagle on the par-5 eighth hole. He birdied the par-5 fifth hole and took advantage of the short par-4 seventh hole to get some breathing room.
He doesn’t play to make the cut. But he wanted to keep playing.
“I think yesterday I was excited to play – nervous and not really knowing what to expect – but today it felt more normal, I think,” Koepka said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely still restless. Maybe a little bit of nerves, just trying to figure it out and see where my game is, right? I feel like I’m playing really well. It’s just been a long break.”
Schauffele earned a victory in Japan in the fall, the only tournament he played because he wanted to be home with his son who was born about five months ago. He took a bogey from some funny jumps and bad lies on the short par-4 seventh on the north, then almost made an extremely difficult shot behind the green to a back pin on the par-5 ninth, his final hole. He missed the birdie putt from eight feet to reach the weekend.
Scottie Scheffler now takes over the longest active cutting streak at 65, still not halfway to Tiger Woods’ record of 142.
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