Justin Rose Makes History During First Two Rounds At Farmers Insurance Open
They say age is just a number, but in professional golf, that number usually starts screaming at you once you pass 40. Don’t tell that to Justin Rose. At 45 years old, the Englishman isn’t just competing against the young guns on the PGA Tour; he’s absolutely schooling them.
If you thought Rose was fading into the twilight of his career after that heart-wrenching loss at The Masters last year, think again. He showed up to La Jolla this week with a point to prove, and through 36 holes at the Farmers Insurance Open, he hasn’t just taken the lead—he’s seemingly playing a different sport than everyone else.
Rose Rewrites the Record Books
Rose opened with a sizzling 62 on the North Course, which is impressive enough. But the real magic happened on Friday at the South Course. For the uninitiated, the South Course at Torrey Pines is a beast. It eats average rounds for breakfast. It’s where U.S. Opens are played. You’re supposed to survive it, not dismantle it.
Yet, Rose strolled through with a 7-under 65. That puts him at 17-under par for the tournament. To put that in perspective, that is the lowest 36-hole score in the history of this event. He beat the previous record by two strokes. He’s currently sitting on a four-stroke cushion heading into the weekend, and if he keeps this up, we might be witnessing the first wire-to-wire winner here since Johnny Miller back in 1982.
“I’m feeling great,” Rose said to the media. “Today, probably even more so just given it’s hard to often follow up a low one.”
Calculating the Course: How Rose Is Doing It
It’s not just about hitting bombs off the tee, though that helps. What Rose is displaying right now is veteran savvy. He’s dissecting the course. When he gets into trouble, which happens to everyone at Torrey, he’s taking his medicine and relying on a flat stick that seems to have a magnet inside it.
He noted that his decision-making was “spot on.” He’s playing for the fat of the green, leaving himself 40-footers, and then stress-free two-putting. It sounds boring, but on a track this hard, boring is beautiful. It’s the kind of disciplined golf that wins majors, or in this case, puts you in a prime position for a 13th PGA Tour title.
The Chasing Pack and Dahmen’s Wild Ride
While Rose is the headline, he isn’t alone out there. Seamus Power is hanging around at 13-under, which in any other year would probably be leading. But the wildest scorecard of the day belonged to Joel Dahmen.
Dahmen, who only got into the field on Monday as an alternate, fired a 63 on the North Course. But it wasn’t a normal 63. The man carded three eagles. That’s video game stuff. You usually don’t see three eagles in a month, let alone a single round. He’s sitting six shots back, along with Max McGreevy, but if Rose stumbles even a little, Dahmen has the firepower to make things interesting.
Koepka Scrapes Into the Weekend
The other massive storyline this week was the return of Brooks Koepka. The gallery was buzzing to see the four-time major winner back on Tour, but for a while on Friday, it looked like his return would be a short one.
After an opening 73, Koepka was flirting with the cut line all day. It got sweaty. He went birdie-eagle to get inside the number, then endured two brutal lip-outs that pushed him back out. It came down to a grind on the final stretch. A clutch par save from a bunker on the 8th and a steady two-putt on the 9th finally secured his spot at 3-under.
“I’ve never gotten so many congratulations on making a cut before,” Koepka said after the round. He’s 14 shots behind Rose, so he’s not winning this thing, but just being there for the weekend is a win for the narrative.
Heartbreak For Schauffele
While Rose was surging, a local favorite hit a wall. Xander Schauffele saw his incredible streak of 72 consecutive made cuts come to an end. It’s the fifth-longest streak in Tour history, but the golf gods don’t care about streaks. A bogey on a drivable par-4 and parring two par-5s was enough to send him packing. It’s a tough way to end such an impressive run, especially in his hometown, but that’s golf.
Heading into Saturday, all eyes remain on Rose. Can the 45-year-old keep this blistering pace? If the first two days are any indication, the rest of the field is playing for second place.
