Séamus Power’s putter was on fire as the Waterford man carded an opening seven-under 65 to move into a share of fifth place at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
The 147-man field play the North Course and South Course alternatively over the opening two rounds before the leading 65 and ties focus on the South Course over the closing two days, and though Power was tackling the tougher South Course on day one, he made light of the fact and carded eight birdies.
The first of these came on the par-3 third where he sank a 10-footer, but a three-putt on the next dropped him back to level-par. That was the only blemish on his card, however, and he got back into red figures after a superb two-putt birdie on the par-5 sixth and another laser-like approach to the par-3 eighth set up another birdie look from seven feet that he took full advantage of.
He made the turn at two-under after saving par from eight feet after a scrappy tee-to-green performance on the par-5 ninth, but he was back on the birdie trail on 10, then holed a monster, 53-foot putt on the 11th to get to -4.
He was forced to scramble for par on the following four holes, a steady hand with the putter saving him, but he made no mistake on his next look for birdie, draining a 13-footer on the par-3 16th, then following with a 16-footer on the par-4 17th to take him to -6 playing the par-5 closing hole.
After laying up short of the pond, he left himself another 13-footer down the hill and kept his hot hand alive but rolling it dead-centre, finishing the day number one in Strokes Gained: Putting and carding the lowest score of the day on the South Course.
The lowest score overall was shot by Justin Rose who made 10 birdies in a bogey-free effort alongside Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day who also made their fair share of birdies.
Rose, who won this event in 2019 while ranked number one in the world, continues to prove that age is just a number and, now in his 46th year, is seeking to break his own record as the oldest European to win on the PGA Tour.
“Yeah, obviously delighted to kind of go out there and make the most of a perfect day,” Rose said afterwards. “I mean, it was just such an enjoyable round of golf. You know, great views. It’s one of my favorite venues on Tour. It’s been a spotty venue for me through the years, I feel like I’ve either played great or not here, so nice to get off to a good start. North Course clearly is one that you want to try to make the most of and it’s great to do that today for sure.”
Justin Lower lies solo second at -9 after closing out with an eagle on the North Course – his second eagle of the day – while Matsuyama and Max Greyserman share third at -8.
Of the seven players tied for fifth or better, only Power played the South Course, and only he and Max McGreevy (T8, 66) are in the top 22.
Tony Finau made the first hole-in-one of the 2026 PGA Tour season when he found the bottom of the hole from 215 yards on the South Course’s 16th hole playing alongside Marco Penge who was making his first start as a full PGA Tour member but struggled to a 75.
Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour was a rather uneventful one, with the five-time major champion birdieing the South Course’s 18th hole for his only red number of the day in a one-over 73.
Koepka admitted that he’d been nervous as he stood on the first tee, but that the nerves were a result of a newfound appreciation for the game and for what it means to him.
“Just because I care,” he said. “I think I’ve fallen back in love with the game. And honestly, watching my son play a little bit and wanting to be able to see him watch me, or I guess want him to watch me play well and realize how much this game’s given me, how fun it is and how cool it is to just be out here.”
Power goes out early on the North Course in round two, going out first off the 10th tee at 17:10 Irish time.
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