SAN DIEGO — Golfers like to pull a few blades of grass and toss them into the air to gauge the wind before hitting a shot.
That would explain any grass floating in the Pacific Ocean during Thursday’s second round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Santa Ana winds that gusted up to 30 mph at Torrey Pines created conditions that ranged from concerning to comical.
“It’s one of those days where the weather has the full control of the ball, you just have to hang on,” Brendan Steele said.
First-round co-leader Sam Ryder seemed oblivious to it all, grabbing the lead outright with a 4-under 68 on the South Course, one day after opening with an 8-under 64 on the North. He is 12-under for the tournament at its halfway point.
“The thing I’ve been kind of telling myself is to just try and embrace it,” said Ryder, holding a 36-hole lead for the first time in 147 starts on the PGA Tour. “It’s not a position that I’ve been in a lot, you know, so just trying to enjoy it. It’s kind of why we play, so just trying to look around and enjoy the moment.”
A player very familiar with the lead, world No. 3 Jon Rahm, was on the verge of missing the cut before shooting 5-under on his final five holes on the North to finish with a 67.
Rahm is eight shots off the lead, but still has a chance to win his third straight start.
Ryder is three shots up on Steele, his playing partner, who will remain paired with Ryder for the third round after shooting 70.
They will be joined by Argentina’s Tano Goya. He is in third place, five shots behind Ryder, after shooting 67 on the North Course. Goya shared the low round of the day with Rahm.
“I’ve been playing Europe for 11 years,” said Goya, who is making his Farmers debut. “I think that helped me a lot. It’s a lot of rounds where you play with a lot of wind, especially when you play in the islands. That helped me a lot. Also living in Florida where you can get a lot of wind.”
Players saw the wind in all its bluster playfully redirect their tee shots.
While calculating their approach to the green, they watched the wind whip flagsticks one way one moment and the opposite direction the next. And they arrived to greens cluttered with debris, mainly leaves, which required clearing before lining up putts.
At one point, Tony Finau’s caddy chased down a stray tree branch off the North’s 17th green as Finau lined up his putt.
Then there was Peter Malnati, whose chip shot on the South’s par-3 11th hole was interrupted when half a dozen trash cans came rolling down the hill like a zombie invasion.
Malnati stabbed one of the trash cans with his wedge to get it to stop. Then, with his white bucket hat flapping in the wind, he chipped his next shot close enough to the hole to get his par.
“We knew today was going to be like a put your helmet on and kind of get ready for a battle (day),” said Ryder, who saved a couple pars on his first two holes and overcame one bogey with five birdies.
The top three on the leaderboard were followed by a logjam in fourth place, where six players were tied at 6-under.
Two-time Farmers champion Jason Day was among them before a final-hole bogey on the South Course dropped him to 5-under for the tournament with a 71.
Seventy-three players made the cut at even par.
Finau and Murrieta native Rickie Fowler were among 21 players right on the number after shooting 71 and 72, respectively, on the North.
Local favorite Xander Schauffele was on the cutline before a birdie on the South’s par-5 18th hole delivered a 71 that made him 1-under for the day and the tournament.
Rahm looked like he would be free for the weekend as well — visit the San Diego Zoo or Sea World? — before rallying for an eagle and three birdies over his final five holes.
His play on holes 5-9 (he started on No. 10) moved Rahm from one over the cutline to four strokes clear.
In the process, Rahm boosted his standing from a tie for 116th (after an opening-round 73) to a tie for 14th.
“I knew that’s probably in any given day the most scorable part of the golf course,” said Rahm, adding that he “got in the mentality of making birdies instead of being a little tentative, which is easy to do when it’s blowing as hard as it was blowing today.”
Ryder shrugged off the wind as he breezed through another solid round.
“The conditions are the conditions,” the Florida native said. “It’s still beautiful, it’s a beautiful course, great spot. I can’t control any of that, all I can control is my attitude and how I prepare.
“Just going to kind of try and take it all in stride and do a lot of the same.”
