Farmers Insurance Open 2019: Justin Rose Leads at 15 Under Through Round 2

Justin Rose moved up one spot into sole possession of the lead after 36 holes at the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open.                  

The South African star finished the second round with a 66 to drop his two-day total to a tournament-record-tying 15-under par. He's three shots in front of Hideki Matsuyama for the top spot. 

One player who likely won't be a factor the rest of this weekend is Tiger Woods. A seven-time winner of the tournament, he posted his second straight 70 to finish at four under par heading into Saturday. 

Here's the top of the leaderboard from Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, via PGATour.com:

1. Justin Rose (-15)

2. Hideki Matsuyama (-12)

T-3. Billy Horschel (-10)

T-3. Ryan Palmer (-10)

T-3. Jon Rahm (-10)

T-6. Joel Dahmen (-9)

T-6. Si Woo Kim (-9)

T-6. Sangmoon Bae (-9) 

T-9. Wyndham Clark (-8)

T-9. Rory McIlroy (-8)

T-9. Adam Scott (-8)

T-9. Sepp Straka (-8)

T-9. Sam Burns (-8)

T-9. Bud Cauley (-8)

T-9. John Huh (-8)

T-9. Doug Ghim (-8)

T-9. Charles Howell III (-8)

Playing on the south course, Rose was able to use a hot streak on the front nine to take the lead. After opening with three straight pars, he went on a run of four birdies over the final six holes before making the turn. 

Rose carried that momentum onto the back nine with birdies on Nos. 10 and 13. 

The low score of the day belonged to Rory McIlroy, who is among a group of nine players tied for ninth place. He fired a seven-under 65 for his best single-round score so far this PGA Tour season. 

The highlight of McIlroy's round came early with eagles on his first and seventh holes. He started on the back nine with this eagle from the fairway:

McIlroy is chasing his first win since the Arnold Palmer Invitational last March. He told reporters in November his main focus in 2019 would be on the PGA Tour after one victory in the previous two seasons. 

"It is the result of the changes," he said. "I don't have to commit to anything until May, so I will not have played a European Tour event ... I will play the WGCs and majors and events like that, but the true European Tour season does not start until July."

While McIlroy has work to do to chase down Rose, Friday's showing is a promising sign for the former world No. 1 and shows what he is capable of doing when his game is on point. 

Matsuyama is in the best position to put pressure on Rose in the third round. He's been a model of consistency to this point, with 11 birdies, one eagle and one bogey. The 26-year-old has shot five of his last six rounds in the 60s, dating back to the Sony Open in Hawaii two weeks ago. 

Woods missed an opportunity to break 70 thanks to a double bogey on his ninth hole. The par-fours have been a source of frustration for him through two rounds:

The 43-year-old also didn't receive much help when he was making good shots:

It wasn't all bad news for Woods in the second round, though, with this chip-in birdie on No. 4:

Unless Rose starts showing signs of slowing down, it won't matter what the rest of the field does over the next two days. There have been a number of low scores through 36 holes—77 players made the cut line of three under par—so Saturday has the potential to feature a lot of movement.