LA JOLLA, Calif. — Of late, Tiger Woods and the Torrey Pines South Course have not been a very good mix.
For all of the talk about Woods having won eight times at Torrey Pines, including his last major championship win in the 2008 U.S. Open, Woods entered Thursday’s Farmers Insurance Open first round a combined 7-over-par in his previous seven rounds in the tournament.
Add to that the fact that this week is Woods’ first official start of the 2019 season and the 2-under 70 he shot Thursday has to be considered a success.
Woods, who began his comeback from a fourth back surgery last year at the Farmers and finished tied for 23rd, trails leader Jon Rahm, who shot a 10-under 62, by eight shots. But Rahm played his first round on the North Course, which was playing nearly three shots easier than the South Course, which is the track used for the U.S. Open.
So that puts pressure on Woods to take advantage of the North Course in Friday’s second round to put himself in position to make a run at this first win at Torrey Pines since 2013.
“Overall, shooting a couple under par on the South Course is not so bad,’’ Woods said. “But now I’m forced to have to shoot a low one [Friday] just like most of the field did over there today. I’ve got to go do it.’’
Woods said he “probably could have shot 68 or 67 pretty easily today,’’ adding, “I hit a lot of good putts that were around the hole but didn’t fall in.’’
One putt that did go in was a 12-footer for birdie on the 18th hole that got him to 2-under for the day and buoyed his spirits. Woods, of course, has a history of making significant putts on the 18th at Torrey Pines, highlighted by the birdie putt he made that forced the 2008 U.S. Open playoff with Rocco Mediate.
Woods, trying to get into a rhythm, said he played a bit conservatively Thursday and plans to change that Friday.
“It will be a lot easier,’’ he said. “I’ve got a competitive round under my belt. As I get more comfortable, I’ll fire at more flags and start being a little bit more aggressive and start feeling a little bit more comfortable with the game and being back competing again.’’
Woods, who said he was pleased with his driving, hit 7-of-14 fairways, but wasn’t badly errant on the ones he missed like he was a year ago. He hit 12-of-18 greens in regulation and had 28 putts.
“I felt pretty comfortable with everything today,’’ Woods said. “I felt like I drove it halfway decent and irons were good but not great. Playing at competitive speed again, I didn’t quite hit all my irons pin-high like I normally do. That’s something hopefully I’ll have a better handle on [Friday]. It was nice to have some juice flow in the system again. It’s been a while. I missed it.’’