ON GOLF
Hey guys,
Farmers Insurance Open is underway, and if your favorite players aren’t at the top of the leaderboard after Thursday, there could be two reasons:
They’re not on their game
They played the South Course
Torrey Pines has two courses (North Course and South Course). Half the field played South yesterday, half the field played North. They swap today. The top 65 players and ties after 36 holes make the cut to play into the weekend.
The weekend rounds (Sat + Sun) are both played on the South Course, the overwhelmingly more challenging of the two. It’s longer, it’s tricker, it’s less forgiving. AND IT SHOWS.
A few position stats after Thursday’s round:
Only 2 of the top 22 players played the South Course — shoutout Seamus Power and Max McGreevy.
Of the top 100 players on the leaderboard, only 36 played the South Course.
Of the golfers in positions 101-146, ONLY 6 played the North Course.
Maybe a simpler breakdown:
Positions 1-54: 11 SOUTH, 43 NORTH
Positions 55-100: 25 SOUTH, 21 NORTH
Positions 101-146: 40 SOUTH, 6 NORTH
So uhhhhhhh basically… south hard, north easy. By North easy, I mean for professional golfers. I would be thrilled to crack a 100. 110? 120? I have no idea.
What to watch for
Justin Rose leads the pack after a blistering 62 on the North Course — look for him to keep up his solid play, but regress toward the mean after a battle with South Course. He should be squarely in to make the cut after missing last week’s at the AmEx.
Harris English, Xander Schauffele, and Brooks Koepka all sit at +1 after their bouts with South yesterday. They lie just outside the top 100, so while they’ll have an easier test today, they’ve got to score.
Ludvig Aberg continues his early season struggles, posting a field-worst +6 despite snagging birdies on 17 and 18 to finish the day. Again, easier test for him today, but he’s going to need something special today. He withdrew last week due to illness, and there’s a chance he’s not 100%, because when he’s at his best, he’s truly one of the best.
Fun little note: Sahith Theegala had an awful year last year (I think he’d say so himself), and he’s made the cut in both events so far, and sits at T-8. Happy to see him get things back on track.
Look for the guys who performed well on South Course yesterday to capitalize. I think -10 after Friday will put you in a good spot to compete.
Many thanks
I’m simply thrilled for golf to be VERY BACK. Something to look forward to every single week.
Putting out a few things here and there on the YouTube channel — not much on there yet, but going to be experimenting with some fun stuff here soon.
Was pretty proud of this thumbnail (you can click it too):
Cheers,
Luke Mangan
On Golf