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SAN DIEGO: Ludvig Aberg shot a 9-under 63 Wednesday in what he calls his favorite place in the world, taking a two-shot lead over Danny Walker and Hayden Springer in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

Aberg took a first-round lead on the PGA Tour for the first time after posting the best opening-round score of his short career. The 25-year-old Swede capitalized on playing the easier North Course at Torrey Pines, hitting 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,” Aberg 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.”

The 25-year-old Walker was outstanding in his fourth career PGA Tour start. He posted the opening day’s best round on the tougher South Course, where the scoring average was 72.487 compared to 70.218 on the North.

Walker and Springer finished one shot in front of Lanto Griffin, Zac Blair, 48-year-old Zach Johnson and 20-year-old Aldrich Potgieter — all of whom played the North Course.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, the highest-ranked player in the field and the winner at The Sentry at Kapalua, shot a 68 on the South Course.

Aberg, who finished ninth last year in his Torrey Pines debut, began the new season with a fifth-place finish in Maui after undergoing knee surgery last fall. After winning the tour’s rookie of the year award in 2023, he went winless last year despite posting six top-five finishes, including runner-ups at the Masters, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the BMW Championship.

While many top players aren’t at Torrey Pines this week, Aberg couldn’t wait to get out to the beautiful coastal course, calling San Diego “my favorite place in the world” earlier this week.

Aberg also said he would love it if the Genesis Invitational is held here in three weeks. The tournament is expected to announce its 2025 home soon after being moved away from Riviera Country Club because of the deadly wildfires that destroyed part of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, near the famed course.

“I haven’t had any issues since the surgery, so it’s really nice,” Aberg 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.”

Walker, a rookie who who earned his PGA Tour card on the Korn Ferry Tour, turned in a bogey-free round after missing his first two cuts of the season.

Johnson hasn’t won on tour since the 2015 British Open at St. Andrews, but he started impressively at Torrey Pines after getting in on a sponsor’s exemption.

Defending champion Matthieu Pavon shot a 73 on the South Course.

This famed tournament on the northern coast of San Diego has fewer stars than normal in its field this year. World No. 2 and San Diego native Xander Schauffele didn’t enter, while fifth-ranked and Southern California native Collin Morikawa withdrew on Sunday, followed by former Torrey Pines runner-up Will Zalatoris on Wednesday morning.

The Farmers Insurance Open starts on a Wednesday and ends on a Saturday to avoid a final-round conflict with the NFL’s conference championship games.

DUBAI: Daniel Hillier of New Zealand birdied the final two holes to shoot 2-under 70 on Saturday and take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic.
Tyrrell Hatton shot 68 and was the closest challenger to the No. 223-ranked Hillier, whose only win on the European tour came at the British Masters in July 2023.
Hillier was 13-under par for the week.
Rory McIlroy, seeking a third straight title at the prestigious tournament, was seven shots off the pace in a tie for 12th place after a round of 69.