Will home-course advantage help Rory win Open?

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LAS VEGAS — Robert Streb went from making putts to wondering if he would ever miss Thursday in THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT. It led to his best start to any tournament and his lowest score on the PGA TOUR. RELATED: Leaderboard | Adam Scott’s new Titleist irons ‘one of one’ And on this day at The Summit Club, his 11-under 61 was only good for a one-shot lead. A world-class field lit up a very pretty and mostly defenseless golf course overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. The result was the lowest average score — 68.95 — for the opening round on the PGA TOUR all year. Streb had 10 birdies and an eagle and led by one shot over Keith Mitchell, who had more birdies than pars in matching his low round with a 62. Harry Higgs was at 64, while the group at 65 included Sergio Garcia and Viktor Hovland. Such scoring in ideal conditions was what players were expecting on this Tom Fazio desert course, and Streb wasted little time proving it. He started with a pair of 6-foot birdie putts and followed with a 12-footer for eagle. When he walked off the par-5 sixth hole after a long two-putt for birdie, he already was 7-under par. “I’ve never had a start like that, so it was kind of fun,” Streb said. “I was trying to stay in the moment the best I can, and I don’t know. You just feel like you can start aiming at stuff. Things seemed to be going my way.” Streb broke by two shots his previous low score on the PGA TOUR, one of those 63s in the PGA Championship at rain-soaked Baltusrol in 2016. But while low scores were plentiful — 25 players at 67 or lower — so was trouble if anything left the emerald green fairways. Consider how it must have felt for Justin Rose. Two holes into the tournament, he already was 10 shots behind. Rose came up short of the par-3 second green into a native area of mostly rocks and some sand. He tried to play it and the ball ricocheted off a stone wall into a desert bush. His only option was to take a penalty drop — but where? Going back on a line with the hole, he found a fairly sparse area only to duff it toward the wall and more rocks. After another penalty drop, he got up-and-down for a quadruple-bogey 7. It’s not as though Rose was alone in his travails. Dustin Johnson, trying to avoid only his second winless year in his 14 years on the PGA TOUR, tried to drive the 12th green and wound up in the desert. He took a drop 50 yards behind him in a lot for the next mansion and made double bogey. He made his only birdie on the back nine at the par-5 closing hole for a 74. Justin Thomas was off to a slow start and then went into reverse when he tried to play out of the desert and kept banging it off the rocks. One shot went 25 feet. Another went 30 yards into a lie so bad he had to take a penalty. Plus, his wedge had a gouge in the face, and a rules official had to fetch a replacement from his car. Thomas birdied his last three holes for a 69. Rory McIlroy was making his move until going into the desert, clanging it off rocks that led to a penalty drop and making triple bogey. He had to settle for a 68. “It’s one of those courses where if you just keep it in play, it’s obviously very scorable,” McIlroy said. “But you hit a couple just offline and you get a bad break or a little unlucky, you can make a big number and I did that on 17. But the other 17 holes were good.” All 18 holes were good for Mitchell, at least at The Summit Club. He missed the cut last week down the road at the TPC Summerlin and then spent five days working harder than most visitors to Las Vegas, and it helped that putting coach Ramon Bescansa was in town. Mitchell made a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 third and was on his way. He followed with two more birdies from about that range and never let up. “When that went in with good speed, I felt like I had a chance today,” he said. Good putting goes a long way on any course. Keeping it on the grass on a course built in the desert also helps. “If you hit the fairways, you have good chances. It’s that simple,” Mitchell said. “Because if you miss the fairways, the desert is a big penalty. It just depends on luck after that. … If you get out of position out here it can bite you.” Defending champion Jason Kokrak probably wished he was back at Shadow Creek. He opened with a 77. This is the second straight year the CJ Cup has moved from South Korea to Las Vegas because of the pandemic.

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SAN DIEGO – Tony Finau loves Torrey Pines. Having finished inside the top-25 in all three of his previous Farmers Insurance Open starts, Finau opened up his fourth attempt with a 7-under 65 on the North Course to set the early pace. In the old days, before last year’s redesign of the North Course, it was common to see a low leader from out that way. But now it plays much tougher making Finau’s aggressive nine-birdie, two-bogey performance very impressive. He was three shots better than the next best on the North Course that played to a 71.308 stroke average on Thursday. “I got off to a great start and just kind of was able to ride that momentum,â€� he said. “The North, the way they set it up, it’s a lot firmer and the greens are a lot faster than the South. I think some of the scores reflected that not nearly as low as in the past and just for that reason, the greens are a lot tougher and a lot faster.â€� And in an ominous sign to his rivals… he likes the South Course better. “I look forward to playing the South, a golf course where I can use my length to my advantage so hopefully I keep hitting it well off the tee. I know I can score on that golf course.â€� If Finau is to go on to win, he will have to buck a recent trend. George Burns in 1987 is the last first-round leader/co-leader to go on to win the Farmers Insurance Open.   OBSERVATIONS The North Course at Torrey Pines is no longer the pushover it used to be. On Thursday, at 71.308, it was only a shade easier than the always-tough South Course at 71.615. Now, there is no respite at the Farmers Insurance Open. “In the back of your head you’re always trying to get something out of the North course, but with where the pins are and how firm those greens are, it’s no give on that golf course anymore, so you have to play great golf to get the ball close,â€� Justin Rose explained. Ted Potter Jr. has missed five out of seven cuts so far this season, but the former Greenbrier Classic winner (2012) started hot on the South Course. A 5-under 31 on the front nine saw the web.com Tour graduate leap up the leaderboard and a steady 1-under back nine leaves him tied second at 6-under (the equal best score on the South Course). Potter Jr. hasn’t had a top-10 on the PGA TOUR since the 2013 Greenbrier. Ryan Palmer’s 6-under 66 was certainly one of the feel-good rounds of the day. Having started the season on a major medical exemption, Palmer secured his TOUR status last week at the CareerBuilder Challenge – freeing up the three-time winner. Having endured shoulder surgery last year and dealing with his wife’s breast cancer the year before, plenty are hoping Palmer becomes a regular at the top of the leaderboards once more. Hunter Mahan missed the cut in his first three Farmers Insurance Opens. Since then, he’s made the weekend 10 years in a row, including two top-10 finishes at Torrey Pines (2011, 2012). The six-time PGA TOUR winner opened with a 4-under 68 on the South Course Thursday to be T4. His last top-10 finish on TOUR came in September 2015 at the Dell Technologies Championship. In his six starts since returning from military leave, South Korean Sangmoon Bae has missed five cuts and finished T61 in a 78-man no cut event. But Thursday at Torrey Pines, his 4-under 68 on the North Course to be T4 was a step in the right direction for the two-time winner and former Presidents Cup star. The last seven winners of the Farmers Insurance Open played the South Course in the first round. Ben Crane in 2010 was the last player to start on the North Course and win. The last four winners have shot 72 or higher in the first round. Tiger Woods (2013) is the last player to open with a sub-70 round and go on to win. 2017 – Jon Rahm (72); 2016 – Brandt Snedeker (73); 2015 – Jason Day (73); 2014 – Scott Stallings (72); 2013 – Tiger Woods (68) NOTABLES Tiger Woods – The long-awaited return of the 79-time PGA TOUR winner resulted in a respectable even-par 72 on the South Course to be tied 84th. His total distance of made putts was 34 feet, 11 inches, marking his fourth-lowest total in a round on TOUR in the ShotLink era (2003). The field average was 74 feet, one inch. Phil Mickelson – The San Diego native is T35 after a grinding 2-under 70 on the North Course. Jon Rahm – The defending champion and last week’s winner continued his hot form with a tidy 4-under 68 on the South Course to be T4. He will move to world No. 1 with a win. Patrick Reed – An impressive 4-under 68 on the South Course in front of his idol Tiger Woods has Reed well poised at T4. Justin Rose – The Englishman produced a back nine turnaround on the North Course to shoot 3-under 69 to sit T15. Rickie Fowler – After jumping to 4-under through eight holes, Fowler produced four bogeys in his last 10 holes on the North Course to shoot even-par 72. Jason Day – The 2015 Farmers Insurance Open champion battled to a 1-over 73 on the South Course a day after withdrawing from the Pro-Am with back soreness. QUOTABLES   When you’re playing good, everything kind of seems easier. I am a local guy, a lot of local support and it did get me a little jittery and excited.I’m always nervous. I care about what I do and it was fun to feel that competitive rush again.Other than majors, this is the one I want to win the most. SUPERLATIVES Low round: North Course: 7-under 65 from Tony Finau; South Course: 6-under 66 from Ted Potter Jr. and Ryan Palmer. Longest drive: 343 yards: Conrad Shindler on the par-4 14th on the South Course. He made par. The North Course only measured the 13th and 18th holes with Will Zalatoris leading at 350 yards on the 13th. Longest putt: 43 feet, one inch – Abraham Ancer drained an eagle on the par-5 13th on the South Course. Putt distances were not measured on the North Course. Easiest hole: (South) – Par-5, No. 6 (4.462) with 47 birdies, 26 pars and five bogeys. (North) – Par-5, No. 17 (4.513) with three eagles, 38 birdies, 32 pars, four bogeys and a double bogey. Hardest hole: (South) – Par-4, No. 12 (4.474) with just two birdies, 42 pars, 29 bogeys and five double bogeys. (North) – Par-4, No. 4 (4.333) with seven birdies, 39 pars, 31 bogeys and one double bogey. CALL OF THE DAY

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