Before this week Farmers insurance is openLudvig Åberg sat in the media center for his pre-tournament press conference and praised San Diego as his favorite place in the world. Talk about how Torrey Pines It also brings him peace, how the golf course suits his eyes.
“You need to drive it well, hit it high to get to some of these greens, and hit it well, so I like my chances when I play the Torrey,” Aberg explained.
“That’s one of the reasons I circled it on my calendar. It’s a nice place to start the year, and I’m looking forward to continuing it.”
No wonder why he dominated Wednesday. Åberg posted a 9-under 63 and is now at the top of the leaderboard alone after day one.
Åberg wasted no time in moving forward on the northern track either. European Ryder Cup The star started his round in style, making birdies on four of his first five holes. He then added an eagle on the 17th, his 19-footer deflecting into the bottom of the cup off the right side. The Swede then had a great 29th-minute scoring chance in the 18th minute, but his six-foot shot missed low on the low side.
But in true Åberg fashion, he bounced back by making another birdie on the 10th hole of the day, his first 4th hole. He hung a wedge putt to about five feet and buried the putt for the seventh break in 10 holes.
A bogey on the second day set him back a bit, as Åberg missed the fairway and found a lie buried off the tee. He could only rally the ball on his second shot and couldn’t get up and down on his third shot. But he bounced back well, making birdies on the fifth, seventh and ninth holes to post a 3-under 33 on the back nine.
“I felt like I was driving the ball really well,” Oberg said of his opening drive.
“Golf is a lot easier when you can do that. Even though the north is a little easier than the south, it still presents its challenges and you still have to hit shots. Very happy with the way we came out of the gates today and played some good golf.”
He hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and missed just four fairways, playing near flawless golf in his second PGA Tour start of the year. The world of golf saw the last time Åberg in the first ever TGL match on January 7, two days after he tied for fifth at The Sentry in Maui. But now Åberg has his sights set on winning a PGA Tour event for the first time since the 2023 RSM Classic. He is in a great position to do so in one of his favorite places in the world.
Jack Melko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Play Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
