SAN DIEGO — All the attention was on Tiger Woods and his 2019 debut. Just like the last two occasions, Jon Rahm delivered the best performance.
In ideal conditions even by San Diego standards, Rahm opened with an eagle and kept going lower until he had a 10-under 62 on the North course at Torrey Pines, giving him a one-shot lead over Justin Rose after the opening round Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open.
“You play the South on the first day, you’re trying to survive,” Rahm said. “On the North, you’ve got to start under par to keep up. I kept the pedal down.”
Woods was on the tougher South course, where he won his last major, the 2008 U.S. Open. He made three birdies on the back nine for a 70, which he thought could have been lower but found acceptable given that it was his first competition in nearly two months.
“I probably could have shot something around 68 or 67 today pretty easily,” Woods said. “I hit a lot of good putts that were around the hole that just didn’t quite fall in. Overall, shooting a couple under par on the South course is not so bad, but now I’m forced to have to shoot a low one tomorrow just like most of the field did over there today.”
Rahm’s highlight last year was beating Woods on Sunday in the Ryder Cup during a European victory in France. He ended the year by closing with a 65 to win Woods’ holiday tournament in the Bahamas.
They were on opposite ends of Torrey Pines, and the Spaniard made the most of being on the North course, which is 440 yards shorter and played just over two shots easier on average.
EUROPEAN: Matthew Fitzpatrick of England birdied five of his last six holes to shoot a 7-under 65 and take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab Emirates.
Fitzpatrick’s lowest score in an opening round since 2015 broke a logjam at the top of the leaderboard, with Sergio Garcia and Bryson DeChambeau among eight players to shoot 66.
The biggest of Fitzpatrick’s five career wins came in Dubai, at the end-of-season World Tour Championship in 2016.
Fitzpatrick said he worked in the offseason to add length to his driver and improve his wedge game. It’s already paying off: He was fourth at the Singapore Open last weekend.
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