Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour is the headline heading into the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open, and after a blistering finish on Friday, he entered the weekend with a 68 and surpassed that number.
After struggling on the tougher South Course en route to a 73 on Thursday, Koepka needed to take advantage of the easier North Course on Friday to stay within the cut line. Things seemed to be going in the right direction after starting on the back nine, with a birdie on the 14th and an eagle on the 17th, moving him to 2 under par, the expected cut at the time.
But brutal ripouts on Nos. 2 and 3 halted his momentum, dropping him to 1 under for the tournament and raising the expected cut line to 3 under, so Koepka entered Friday’s final six holes with a serious commitment to the weekend.
He got a birdie on the par-5 5th hole to get back within range, then added a birdie on the par-4 7th hole to move to the cut line at 3 under. He made par from a greenside bunker on the 8th and made the required two-putt par on the 9th to qualify for the weekend in his first PGA Tour event in four years.
After his round, Koepka said that a 68 felt like the worst-case scenario given the way he hit Friday, but he couldn’t drop his putts and couldn’t push them deep.
“I thought I played pretty well. I hit a lot of good putts that burned the edges. I feel like it could have happened. I think the 68 was probably the worst shot I hit today,” Koepka said. “It could have easily been 64, 65 if some putts had fallen, but that’s golf. At times on the Poa (greens), I felt like the speed wasn’t aggressive enough. I feel like that side might be just a little bit slower than south. I’ve got two more rounds to play, so I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a tough golf course, but I don’t know what rounds Rosie is playing.”
Koepka won’t be in contention for a win this weekend as he starts the third round 14 strokes off the blistering pace of leader Justin Rose, but it’s still a solid start to his return to the PGA Tour.
Koepka said earlier in the week that he was more nervous than usual and didn’t know exactly how everyone would react to his return. And in the first round, he didn’t seem completely comfortable on the tough South course. The move to the Nordschleife was an opportunity, but also pressure to perform as I knew the cut line would continue to move further below par as the days went on.
Although his tee shot was still a bit fickle, Koepka seemed to have more control over the ball and was able to create more opportunities on the easier of the two courses heading into the weekend. Losing weight isn’t the ultimate goal of returning to the Tour, but in a week where several big names, including playing partners Max Homa and Ludwig Øberg, return home early, Koepka punches his ticket into the weekend, allowing him to take a deep breath and move toward a return to the PGA Tour.
Koepka said with a laugh, “It’s huge. I wanted to be here all four days. I’ve never been so blessed to qualify for the tournament.” “But no, I feel good. I wanted to play two more days and I’m excited to challenge myself and really understand where I’m at (with my game). Hopefully I can be a little more aggressive and hit some good scores.”
leader
1. Justin Rose (-17): At the top of the leaderboard is Rose, the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open winner. Just like seven years ago, he rushed off the field before the weekend arrived. Rose entered the weekend with a four-stroke lead over second place and set a tournament record for lowest score to par after 36 holes at 17 under.
After a sensational 2025 season that saw him return to the winner’s circle (for the first time since 2023), compete in a major and help win the European Road Rider Cup, the 45-year-old Briton picked up where he left off. He noted that Rose attacked the Nordschleife on Thursday, posting a 62, and on Friday, kept the pedal to the metal on the tougher South Course, scoring a 65, which was probably better.
“I feel great. Obviously, yeah, it’s been a special two rounds of golf,” Rose said. “Today, it was probably even more so considering it was hard to chase down the low courses.Obviously this week is kind of going from an easy course to a tough course, but it was really cool to maintain the momentum there.”
Rose highlighted his decision-making and ability to stay on track as what he was most pleased with after a sensational two-round start to the tournament.
“I felt like I made good decisions in terms of how I ran the game,” Rose said. “Obviously, not every shot was perfect, but when I had a little bit of trouble, the putter came for me, and when I was a little out of position, he restrained himself. I was able to really hit the thick of the green and give myself a good two-putt opportunity from 40 feet. So overall I felt like I was in control of the game. It’s not that I played perfectly, but that I managed the game really well.”
Rose, who started the tournament with a 29-hole clean streak, finally hit a bogey on the 12th hole, but quickly bounced back and righted the ship by erasing that bogey from the card with a birdie on the 13th. He tightened his approach on the 17th and birdied the difficult par-4 to close out the round in style. He then placed his wedge two feet inside for birdie on the par-5 18th.
Rose enters the weekend as the favorite to capture his second career win at Torrey Pines and his 13th career PGA Tour title. As is typical for Rose, his iron play and putting have led him to a strong start, giving him an advantage at the top this week as he ranks fourth in strokes gained approach and fifth in strokes gained in putts.
contestant
2. Sheamus Power (-13)
T3. Joel Damen, Max McGreevey (-11)
5. Sing This Sing (-10)
T6. Michael Thorbjornsen, Sahis Segala, Maverick McNeely, and 3 others (-9)
Damen and Power both made eagles on the par-5 ninth (No. 18) on the Nordschleife to end the round, leaving them just within reach of Rose in the lead. Segala made an eagle bunker shot on the 18th south course and jumped into the top 10.
Dahmen’s 9-under 63 was his round of the day, and he totaled three eagles in the round to move up the leaderboard and set him up for another strong showing at Torrey Pines after finishing in the top 10 a year ago. Power’s 66 on Friday was solid, but Thursday’s 65 on the South Course should give him confidence heading into the weekend. He will likely need more rounds of 60-second laps on the difficult South Course to catch Rose.
Given the lead that Rose has built, the rest of the team will need to do something really great to have a chance of winning, but a top-10 finish early in the season is always welcome as the players look to find their feet and pick up important points heading into the start of the season.
Notable players who missed out
- Xander Schauffele (-2)
- Patrick Cantlay (-2)
- Max Glaserman (-2)
- Will Zalatoris (-1)
- JJ Spahn (E)
- Akshay Bhatia (+1)
- Max Homa (+1)
- Billy Horschel (+5)
- Ludwig Oberg (+6)
Updated Farmers Insurance open odds and picks for 2026
Odds from FanDuel Sportsbook
- Justin Rose (-220)
- Sheamus Power (9-1)
- Similarly (16-1)
- Max McGreevey (20-1)
- Maverick McNeely (25-1)
- Joel Dahmen (30-1)
- Michael Thorbjornsen (30-1)
Given his history in this event (and tough golf courses in general) and the form he’s shown in the first two days, I’m not sure how to bet on anyone other than Rose. That said, it feels tough to be a -220 favorite with 36 holes remaining. Kim is a guy who plays an aggressive enough style that he could create opportunities for the scores needed to erase a seven-shot deficit on a course like the South Course. Now, that’s with the understanding that he could get overly aggressive and put some big numbers on the card, but if he’s taking any position other than Rose at this point, he should swing upwards.
