Nicholas Thompson birdied the final hole to shoot 8-under-par 64 on the North Course and took a one-stroke lead over Michael Thompson, no relation, after one round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla.
Nicholas Thompson, brother of LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson, eagled the first hole and collected seven birdies, making his only bogey on the 12th hole.
“There have been years where I’ve shot lower all three days on the (South) course,” whose only victory as a pro came in the 2007 HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship on what is now the Web.com Tour. “Between the two golf courses, my, the North Course has been my nemesis in relation to the field. So it’s nice to get a good one there, a good start there.
“I mean, it’s in perfect condition. All the sight lines are good, the fairways are defined well, and I mean it just looks great. The greens are the best I’ve seen on the North Course since I turned pro 10 years ago here.”
Michael Thompson, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2013 Honda Classic, birdied three of the last five holes and had a total of eight birdies in his 65, also on the North Course.
Rookie Brooks Koepka, who claimed his first PGA Tour victory last week in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, continued his strong play to tie for third with Cameron Tringale of Laguna Niguel, both shooting 66 on the North Course.
Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela had the best score of the day on the South Course, a 67, and was tied for fifth with Freddie Jacobson of Sweden, Brendon de Jonge of South Africa, Ian Poulter of England, Chad Campbell and Chris Kirk, all of the rest playing the North Course.
Tiger Woods, coming off a missed cut in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, was 2-over when he withdrew on his 13th hole on the North Course when his back problems, which limited him to seven tournaments on the PGA Tour last year, cropped up again.
Phil Mickelson, playing in his hometown event, was 1-over after 15 holes on the South Course when darkness halted play.
Dustin Johnson, playing for the first time this year after taking a leave of absence last August to take care of personal issues, was 2-over after 17 holes, also on the South Course.
The start of the first round was delayed for more than an hour because of dense fog, which caused another delay of about an hour shortly after play began.
