Piercy heads the field at Torrey Pines

American golfer Scott Piercy heads the field after the first day’s play of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Piercy is playing only his second year as a Tour pro.

With the tournament being played over both the North and South courses, Piercy fired an opening round of 64 – 8-under-par over the North Course, which included seven birdies on the front nine.

With most of the top 15 players on the leaderboard having played the North Course – only Australia’s Robert Allenby broke the streak – it’s clear that the North Course played the easier of the two. And most of the events big names started their tournaments over the tougher South Course, including Phil Mickelson who opened with a two-under par 70.

Allenby – one of the most in-form players in the game at the moment, made two huge par saves late in his round to card a bogey-free 67 over the tougher South course, and like many of the event’s big-guns will tackle the easier North course for their second round.

Phil Mickelson played a cautious first round, but with the North Course to come will be hopeful of making up ground on the leaders over the easier course. Mickelson is bidding to win at Torrey Pines for the first time since 2001.

Also playing the South course were three-times Major winner Ernie Els of South Africa, who also carded a 70 while defending champion Nick Watney of the United States opened with a 71.

Our pick for the title, Ryan Moore opened his challenge on the North course and carded a 70.

To contrast the two courses’ relative difficulty, the scoring average on the 7,698-yard South Course was 72.769 on Thursday, more than 2.5 shots tougher than on the 6,986-yard North layout.

Farmer’s Insurance Open Preview

After the five-round extravaganza of the Bob Hope Classic, the PGA Tour moves onto Torrey Pines and the new Farmer’s Insurance Open. The event had formerly been known as the Buick Open.

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Buick Invitational gets a new sponsor

The tournament once known as the Buick Invitational has been saved after securing a sponsor for 2010. The tournament has often served in the past as a traditional season-opener for Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, but with Buick’s decision to withdraw backing after the 2009 event, it was unclear whether the event would survive.

The tournament, which is played over San Diego’s South Course at Torrey Pines will tee off as normal on January 28th and will be sponsored by Farmers Insurance Group, who have their headquarters in California and are a subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services, a European insurance giant based in Switzerland.

Buick withdrew their backing of the event after suffering cash-flow problems, and also were a main sponsor of world number one Tiger Woods. It is perhaps ironic then, that Buick also withdrew their backing of their main man when his extra-marital affairs came to light.

Farmers Insurance Group will only sponsor the 2010 event, although a longer term option exists should the group decide to exercise it.

Choi rallies to claim Samsung victory after losing 7-shot lead

South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi held her nerve long enough to record a nail-biting victory in the Samsung World Championship over the Torrey Pines golf course. It was Choi’s first LPGA Tour victory.

Choi’s victory, however, came after a roller-coaster final round after her third round of 63 had given her a two-shot lead going into the final day. Choi quickly extended her lead with two birdies in her first four holes before an eagle on the sixth gave her a seemingly unassailable lead. However, the wheels came off in dramatic fashion as eventual runner up – Ai Miyazato of Japan, shot successive birdies on the seventh and eighth holes to reduce the deficit to five.

It was enough to put pressure on Choi, who has won four times on the Korean LPGA Tour, and a missed two-footer on the ninth saw her reach the turn with a four shot lead. Many would have thought that would be well enough to see Choi lift her first LPGA Tour victory, but consecutive bogeys coupled with Miyazato making birdie on the sixteenth saw the Japanese player tie with Choi for the lead, before Miyazato was handed the lead after Choi three putted for another bogey on the fourteenth hole.

Choi could perhaps count herself fortunate when Miyazato chose the last hole to make her mistake and the player’s 5-wood approach just failed to clear the bank in front of the final green and rolled into the lake where after a drop she failed to make par. Choi’s approach to the green found the left edge of the putting surface where she two-putted for the birdie and the win.

“I felt like I had just turned professional today,” Choi said when facing the putt for victory. “I was so nervous”

Choi finished the tournament with a winning score of 16-under-par (272) and held off Miyazato of Japan, who shot a 69, the lowest round of the day at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California.

Mickelson looks for Buick Morale Boost

Phil Mickelson has endured an inauspicious start to his 2009 season, but has set his sights on a morale-boosting final round in the Buick International at Torrey Pines.

Mickelson, who is a three-time champion at the Torrey Pines course, having won in 1993, 2000 and 2001, admitted his game was a little rusty, but feels it won’t be long before his game clicks.

Having missed the cut in his seasonal debut in the FBR Open at Scottsdale last week, had a torrid time on the greens as he carded a one-over-par score of 73 to leave himself eleven shots behind tournament leader, John Rollins.  Mickelson started the day nine shots off the pace and had been hopeful for a good round, but bogeys at the fifth and seventh holes saw the left-hander reach the turn in 38, two-over-par.

Another dropped shot came at the par-three eleventh hole, but Mickelson birdied the final two holes to finish on an aggregate total of 215, one-under par, which according to Mickelson “was not what I was hoping for.”

Meanwhile, tournament leader John Rollins will take a three-shot lead over Camilo Villegas into the final round.  Rollins carded three bogeys in the final seven holes to finish with a third round 70 and an aggretate total of 204, twelve-under-par.  Villegas, who lead at halfway could only manage a round of 74, leaving him one stroke ahead of third-placed Nick Watney.  England’s Luke Donald is a further two strokes behind Watney, having scored a third-round 71 to put him on six-under-par alongside Paul Goydos.

Padraig Harrington, playing his first tournament since having two non-malignant melanomas removed from near his right eye, carded a third round 74 to slip out of all contention.

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