Ludvig Åberg loving life at Torrey Pines, leads Farmers Insurance Open

Ahead of this week’s Farmers Insurance Open, Ludvig Åberg sat down in the media center for his pre-tournament press conference and raved about San Diego being his favorite place in the world. He talked about how Torrey Pines brings him peace, too, and how it’s a golf course that suits his eye.

“You need to drive it well, hit it high to get into some of these greens, and putt it well, so I like my chances when I’m playing at Torrey,” Åberg explained.

“That’s one of the reasons why I had it circled on my calendar. It’s a nice place to start the year, and I am looking forward to keeping it going.”

No wonder why he dominated on Wednesday. Åberg posted a 9-under 63 and now sits atop the leaderboard all alone after day one.

Åberg wasted no time in getting it going on the North Course either. The European Ryder Cup star began his round in remarkable fashion, making birdies on four of his first five holes. He then added an eagle at the par-5 17th, as his 19-footer curled into the bottom of the cup from the right side. The Swede then had a remarkable chance for an opening 29 on the 18th, but his six-footer for birdie missed on the low side.

But in true Åberg fashion, he bounced back with another birdie make on his 10th hole of the day, the par-4 1st. He stuck a wedge shot to about five feet and buried the putt for his seventh par-breaker in 10 holes.

A bogey at the 2nd set him back a bit, as Åberg missed the fairway and found a buried lie off the tee. He could only muster a chip-out for his second shot and could not get up and down with his third. But he rebounded nicely again, making birdies on the 5th, 7th, and 9th holes to post a 3-under 33 on his back nine.

“Felt like I was driving the ball really well,” Åberg said of his opening round.

“Golf becomes a lot easier when you can do that. Even though North is a little bit easier than South, it still presents its challenges and you’ve still got to hit the shots. Super happy with the way we kind of came out of the gates today and played some good golf.”

He hit 16-of-18 greens in regulation and missed only four fairways, playing near flawless golf in his second PGA Tour start of the year. The golf world last saw Åberg in the first-ever TGL match on Jan. 7, two days after he tied for fifth at The Sentry in Maui. But now Åberg has his sights set on winning a PGA Tour event for the first time since the 2023 RSM Classic. He’s in a terrific position to do so at one of his favorite places in the world.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.