Shane Lowry had plenty of colour on the scorecard but he had to settle for an opening round of 72 on day one of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
Lowry’s first competitive outing of the new year began in some style on the South Course as he rolled in back to back birdies to shoot up the leaderboard but from there his round was a struggle.
The Clara man turned in one-over following dropped shots on the 4th, 7th and par-5 9th but he steadied affairs with a birdie on the 10th.
The 2019 Open champion bogeyed the 12th but did manage to birdie two of his last four holes either side of a dropped shot one 16 for a level-par round for starters.
It leaves him nine shots off the pace held by his TGL teammate Ludvig Åberg who carded a fabulous round of 63 to hit the front by two shots ahead of Danny Walker.
Åberg’s round came on the North Course with just three of the top-17 playing the South on day one.
The 25-year-old Swede hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation 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 probably going to do the same tomorrow,” Åberg said. “(I love) any golf course when it looks like this, when you have the views, and Torrey Pines is a really, really cool place.”
Åberg had knee surgery during the off season but certainly looks like he is getting back to his best as he looks to get back to winning ways after a fallow 2024.
“I haven’t had any issues since the surgery, so it’s really nice,” Åberg said. “I think Maui was the ultimate test for that. I got some blisters on my feet. That’s another story, but the knee was holding up nice. Really looking forward to coming back and playing a lot of tournaments. … I’m looking forward to a nice stretch of golf.”
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