Farmers Insurance Open 2021: Patrick Reed Among Co-Leaders After Round 1

It appears it's going to take a low score to win the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open.

Patrick Reed and Alex Noren carry a one-stroke lead over the field after shooting an eight-under 64 in the first round at Torrey Pines. Scottie Scheffler sits alone in third place at seven under, and a group of 12 players are tied after shooting 66.

The North Course appeared to play easier than the South on Thursday, with 13 of the 15 players within two strokes of the lead playing their opening round on the North. Ryan Palmer and Peter Malnati were the only two players on the South Course within two strokes of the lead.

Eighty-seven players shot at least one under on an ideal San Diego afternoon.

Reed seemed completely at ease amid swing changes he made after hiring David Leadbetter to retool his game. The 30-year-old, who has not won since last February's WGC-Mexico Championship, nailed 15 of his greens in regulation and seemed fully in command of his game after a rough patch in the latter half of 2020. 

Reed told reporters: 

"There definitely were signs right off the bat that it was obviously the right thing to do and the right way to go, but I've been swinging one way basically my whole life and having to change that and make the change is obviously tough. There's a lot of work going on not just on the golf course but also at home and doing drills, stuff like that, just trying to dial it in and get it more locked in.

"It's been a tough change, but at the same time it's been very rewarding."

Noren, a 38-year-old Swede, has never won on the PGA Tour. He boasts 10 career wins on the European Tour and had solid outings at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship last year but has never been able to push himself over the edge stateside.

Iron play was the key for Noren's opening round, allowing him to hit 16 greens in regulation despite hitting only 28.6 percent of his fairways.

Defending tournament champion Marc Leishman will face an uphill battle to become the first repeat winner since Tiger Woods won four straight from 2005-08. Leishman's round was undone by an ugly triple bogey on the par-four fourth, and he finished at one under on the day.

The loaded field featured 157 players who made the trip to San Diego, including world No. 2 Jon Rahm and world No. 7 Rory McIlroy. Rahm sits five strokes behind at three under after an up-and-down round saw him card six birdies against three bogeys. 

McIlroy was more steady on his way to shooting 68, carding five birdies against just one bogey. Both McIlroy and Rahm were on the South Course in their opening round, so there's a chance they can force themselves to the top of the leaderboard switching things up Friday.