Farmers Insurance Open Round 1: Ludvig Åberg Fires 63 to Grab the Early Lead

Ludvig Åberg calls San Diego his favorite place in the world. On Wednesday, he played like a man trying to buy property.

The 25-year-old Swede opened the 2025 Farmers Insurance Open with a 9-under 63 on Torrey Pines' North Course, the lowest opening round of his young PGA TOUR career and his first time leading after 18 holes. He sits two clear of Danny Walker and Hayden Springer at 7 under. One more shot back at 6 under is an eclectic group: Lanto Griffin, Zac Blair, 48-year-old Zach Johnson and 20-year-old Aldrich Potgieter, all of whom made their hay on the North.

A Fast Start, Then a Sprint

Åberg began on the back nine and wasted no time. He birdied four of his first five holes and turned in 30, the kind of opening nine that makes everyone teeing off behind him do the math. The lone blemish came at the par-4 2nd, his 11th hole of the day. He answered by eagling the 17th, his eighth birdie or better of the day, then added three more birdies coming home.

The ball-striking was the story. Åberg hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and finished with eight birdies and an eagle against one bogey. He leaned on the big stick, too.

"I like when you hit a lot of drivers, and I feel like I did that a lot today, and probably going to do the same tomorrow," Åberg said, per the AP.

That last part matters. Tomorrow is the South Course, the one that hosts the weekend and the one that bites back.

The Knee Is Fine, Thanks

Åberg arrived with questions that had nothing to do with his swing. He had knee surgery last fall, and while he finished fifth at The Sentry to open his season, Maui's hills were the real stress test.

"I haven't had any issues since the surgery, so it's really nice," Åberg said. "I think Maui was the ultimate test for that. I got some blisters on my feet."

Blisters, not ligaments. That is good news for a player whose 2024 was equal parts brilliant and maddening: six top-five finishes, including runner-up showings at the Masters, AT&T Pebble Beach and the BMW Championship, and no wins. He was ninth in his Torrey Pines debut a year ago, and he made it clear the setting suits him.

"(I love) any golf course when it looks like this, when you have the views, and Torrey Pines is a really, really cool place," Åberg said.

Danny Walker Owned the Hard Course

Here is the round that deserves a second look. While Åberg was carving up the friendlier North, Danny Walker was on the South, which played more than two shots harder on Wednesday. The North averaged 70.218; the South averaged 72.487.

Walker, a 25-year-old rookie who earned his card through the Korn Ferry Tour, shot a bogey-free 65 there. He hit all 18 greens in regulation and made seven birdies. According to Sky Sports, he is just the 12th player since 1980 to hit every green on the South Course in a round, and the first since Martin Laird in 2019.

Context makes it better. This was only Walker's fourth career PGA TOUR start, and he had missed the cut in both of his first two events of the season. Shooting the day's best number on the tougher track is a loud way to announce yourself.

Springer matched that 7-under total with a start that grabbed attention immediately: an eagle on the very first hole of the day.

Old Hands, Young Legs

The 6-under group is a fun snapshot of the TOUR's range. Johnson, in the field on a sponsor exemption, has not won since the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews. Potgieter, the 20-year-old South African rookie, is less than half Johnson's age and brings serious length. Griffin and Blair round out the group, and all four will now have to take that form across the road to the South.

Two amateurs also put up numbers worth noting. Jackson Koivun of Auburn shot 68, and Florida State's Luke Clanton opened with 70. Harris English also posted 68, as did Kris Ventura.

Stars in the Middle, Stars in Trouble

Hideki Matsuyama, the highest-ranked player in the field and fresh off his win at The Sentry, shot 68 on the South. That is a perfectly respectable day's work on the harder course, and it leaves him five back.

Defending champion Matthieu Pavon did not have it, signing for a 1-over 73 on the South that left him tied for 100th. Jason Day shot 74. Max Homa produced the shot of the day by holing out from the rough, but it came inside a 77 on the North, which is the wrong course to post that number on.

The field was also thinner at the top than planned. Xander Schauffele did not enter, Collin Morikawa withdrew on Sunday, and Will Zalatoris pulled out Wednesday morning.

Thursday Swaps the Script

Remember the scheduling quirk: the Farmers runs Wednesday through Saturday this year to stay out of the way of Sunday's NFL conference championship games. That means Thursday is already the cut-making round, and the course rotation flips. Åberg, Griffin, Johnson and Potgieter head to the South, while Walker gets his crack at the North.

A two-shot lead on the easier course is a cushion, not a guarantee. The South has a way of finding out who is real. For one day at least, Åberg looked every bit the player the TOUR has been waiting on to start stacking wins.

Full scores are on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 1 recap and leaderboard), AP, ESPN, Sky Sports. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.