Friday, January 27, 2012
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO
Spencer Levin and Kyle Stanley knew they had to post low scores on the easier North Course at Torrey Pines to get off to a good start Thursday in the Farmers Insurance Open.
It went even better than they expected.
Stanley made eagle on his final hole for a 10-under 62, his best score in two years on the PGA Tour. Levin shot 29 on the back nine and had a 62, matching his career best on tour.
“I played the pro-am on the North Course yesterday. There were just a lot of birdie opportunities out there, so I knew there was a good score — maybe not 10 [under], but I’ll take it,” Stanley said.
They were a shot ahead of FedEx Cup champion Bill Haas, who had a double bogey on his 15th hole and still managed a 63.
The top 12 on the leaderboard played the North, which played slightly more than 31/2 strokes easier than the South Course, which hosted the U.S. Open four years ago.
The best score from the South was Marc Turnesa at 66.
Warren JFK High graduate Jason Kokrak, playing in his third PGA Tour event, shot a 2-over 74.
Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, went south on the South. The three-time champion and San Diego favorite thought his game was rounding into form when he came home from the Humana Challenge.
Instead, he hit into 11 bunkers, missed a 3-foot birdie putt on the final hole and signed for a 77. It was his highest score at Torrey Pines since a 78 in the third round of 2005.
“Obviously, I made some bad swings just in the wrong spot and so forth,” Mickelson said. “I felt like my game was ready heading in, and I don’t know what to say about the score. Because it was pathetic.”
A year ago, the fairways were pinched in and the rough was unusually high on the North Course, helping to make up for the 604-yard difference between the two courses. Based on the scores, that’s no longer the case.
Vijay Singh, Rod Pampling, Josh Teater and PGA Tour rookie John Huh were at 64, with Huh making three eagles. Camilo Villegas and Justin Leonard were among those at 65.
Of the 54 players who shot in the 60s, only 13 of them were on the South Course. One of them was Paul Goydos, who doesn’t buy into the theory that with two vastly different courses, the tournament really doesn’t start until Saturday when everyone has played both.