Rahm, Finau Gaining on Ryder at Farmers Insurance Open

Sam Ryder will attempt to capture his first PGA Tour victory with a stacked leaderboard chasing him down.

Jon Rahm’s lackluster start at the Farmers Insurance Open put him in a tie for 116th place after Round 1. Now, he sits two strokes back of the lead. 

A six-under 66 at Torrey Pines’s South Course helped the world No. 3 continue to claw back into contention as he attempts to capture three wins in three consecutive starts on the PGA Tour. Similar to his round Thursday, Rahm’s day was highlighted by a hot streak. 

The Spaniard—who teed off on 10—capped off the day with three straight birdies and a closing eagle, which resulted from what Rahm thinks might be his best shot of the year. 

“I just kept giving myself pretty much the easiest putts; uphill putt on 6, uphill six-footer on 7, uphill eight-footer on 8 and then on 9, put it in the fairway and was contender for best shot the year for me already, which was the second shot into the green,” Rahm said. 

Rahm might be gaining ground day by day, but Sam Ryder has maintained control of the tournament since his stellar opening-round 64. Ryder struggled to make birdies all day on Friday, but an even par 72 was enough to hold his cushion—for now. 

A dangerously stacked list of players lurks behind Ryder, who will attempt to capture his first PGA Tour victory on Saturday.

Behind Rahm sits Tony Finau, who posted a standout bogey-free 64 that is tied for the low score of the tournament. His round started off with a bang—Finau holed his opening approach shot from 136 yards. 

“Hit the fairway on 1 and had 136 yards and was just a perfect little pitching wedge, a little flighted draw and hit it perfect and it landed right in the middle of the slope and just spun right in the hole,” Finau said. “So that was really exciting. That's when the round kind of got my attention, the juices started to flow a little bit.”

Young guns Sungjae Im, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, and Sahith Theegala all sit five strokes back at seven under for the tournament. 

Ryder has been a PGA Tour member since 2018 but has yet to hoist a trophy in the big leagues. His last win came at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Pinnacle Bank Championship in 2017.