American Patrick Reed and Alex Noren of Sweden share a one-shot lead over American Scottie Scheffler entering Friday's second round of the $7.5 million Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course with rain threatening to interrupt play.
Twelve golfers are tied for fourth, two shots off the lead, including 50-year-old K.J. Choi of South Korea and 2019 U.S. Open champion Garry Woodland.
The course received nine-tenths of an inch of rain overnight. Scattered showers will be possible Friday morning with some sunshine at times, according to PGA Tour meteorologist Stewart Williams.
Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms will become more numerous in the late morning into the afternoon as upper-level energy will be moving overhead. There will be brief heavy downpours and wind guests to 25-30 mph will be possible with some of the showers.
Under PGA Tour rules, play would be stopped only if conditions are unplayable, such as water puddling on the greens or if there is lightning in the immediate vicinity.
Reed and Noren both shot eight-under-par 64s on the North Course Thursday. Of the 15 players that shot 66-or-better, only Americans Peter Malnati and Ryan Palmer did so on the South Course. Both shot 6-under-par 66.
Reed was among 12 golfers with bogey-free rounds. He started his round on the back nine, birdieng each of his first three holes. He also birdied his eighth hole, the par-5 17th. Reed began the front nine with a birdie on the first hole, then had three consecutive birdies on the fifth through seventh holes, giving him eight for the round.
"Felt like I hit the ball well, left myself with a lot of good opportunities, a lot of makeable putts," Reed said after tying the second- lowest first-round score of his PGA Tour career.
"When you're doing that around a golf course like the North, you have to go take advantage of it, especially with what's coming within the next 24 hours."
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This is the sixth time the 30-year-old Reed has led or shared the lead through 18 holes in a PGA Tour event. He has converted three of the previous five to victory. Reed is an eight-time PGA Tour winner, recently in the 2020 WGC-Mexico Championship.
Noren tied his career-low round on the PGA Tour. He also began his round on the back nine, birdieing the 10th and 14th holes. He had an eagle on par-5 17th and a bogey on the par-four 18th. He alternated birdies and pars on the front nine, with birdies on the first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth holes.
"I hit it very good with my irons and wedges, putted very good," the 38-year-old Noren said. "The driver wasn't as good as I wanted it, but out here you could get away with it if you manage to get out of the rough."
This is the third time Noren has led or shared the lead in a PGA Tour event through 18 holes. He has never won on the PGA Tour. His best finish in his 94 starts on the PGA Tour came in the 2018 Farmers Insurance Open when he lost a playoff to Jason Day. Noren is a 10-time winner on the European Tour.
The most recent first-round leader or co-leader to win the Farmers Insurance Open was George Burns in 1987.
The field includes 24 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, topped by second-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain, who won the tournament in 2017, and San Diego State and Scripps Ranch High School graduate Xander Schauffele, who is ranked sixth.
Rahm tied for 32nd, five shots off the leading after shooting a 3- under-par 69 on the South Course Thursday. Schauffele is tied for 48th, six shots off the lead after shooting a 2-under-par 70 on the North Course.
Schauffele has missed the cut four of the five times he has played in the Farmers Insurance Open and tied for 25th in 2019.
American Matthew Wolff withdrew because of a hand injury after shooting a six-over-par 78 on the South Course, among five golfers tied for 147th in the initial field of 156, 12 shots off the lead.
The field will be reduced to the top 70 players and ties following conclusion of the second round. The first two rounds are played on both the North and South courses. The final two rounds will be played on the South Course. The tournament is set to conclude Sunday. The winner will receive $1.35 million.
The tournament is being played without spectators present, like all but two other tournaments since the PGA Tour resumed play in June after a three- month interruption because of the coronavirus pandemic.
