Ludvig Aberg shot a front-nine under-par 63 to take a two-shot lead at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego on Wednesday.
Danny Walker and Hayden Springer each shot a seven-under opening round to tie for second, the former having the best score of the day on the tougher South Course.
Åberg opened his round on the back nine and got off to a fast start with birdies on four of his first five holes. He birdied the 520-yard 17th hole, his eighth of the day, and shot 30 on his first nine holes.
After another birdie on his 10th hole of the day, Åberg delivered his only bogey on the 495-yard par-four second hole, then finished his day with three more birdies.
“I felt like I was driving the ball well,” Åberg said. “Golf becomes a lot easier when you can do that. Even though the north is a little easier than the south, it still presents its challenges and you still have to hit.
“Super happy with the way we came out of the gate today and played some good golf.”
Walker carded his 65 while hitting all 18 greens in regulation to become just the 12th player to accomplish the feat on the South Course since 1980. The PGA Tour rookie is the first to do so since Martin Laird went 18-for-18 in the third round 2019
Walker was the only player to open on the South Course and was within four strokes of Aberg, with just two others in the top 18.
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He hit every green in regulation, cashing in with seven birdies to join Springer in bogeying his opening hole.
“Yeah, it was just the fairway and the green. One of those days where the driver worked (and) really never forced the issue,” Walker said. “I was really just trying to hit the middle of the green a lot and then hit some shots.”
Defending champion Matthieu Pavon struggled with a 1-over 73 on the South Course and is tied for 100th.
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