Torrey Pines shows teeth as wind sends scoring average soaring above 75 at Farmers Insurance Open
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LA JOLLA, Calif. – Zach Johnson stood over what would be, in normal conditions, a prime birdie opportunity. Positioned ideally in the 18th fairway, 130 yards away hitting his third into the par 5, Johnson was anything but comfortable.
He backed away several times, waiting, pleading for the wind to calm. But you have to hit eventually, and the wind wouldn’t relent. He struck the shot well; it didn’t matter. The wind held the ball up and it landed 20 yards short of Johnson’s target, hitting the bank in front of the green and trickling into the water.
Johnson shook his head and yelled in frustration. It was just that type of day.
Unusually windy conditions dominated Thursday’s second round at Torrey Pines. Gusts of 30 mph wreaked havoc on the field, with the only reprieve being the 90 minutes that play was delayed due to extreme conditions. Only 11 players had shot under-par rounds when play was suspended due to darkness. Both the North and South courses averaged more than three shots over par. It was the second-highest scoring average ever recorded on the North Course.
“This is wild," said Joel Dahmen, who did better than most with an even-par 72 on the South Course. "I don’t know if I’ve ever played Torrey in this much wind before."

Joel Dahmen's interview during Round 2 of Farmers
It was a day players just hoped to survive. Eric Cole finished his round on the 18th hole even after the horn was blown to halt play because of windy conditions. He didn’t want to wait around, happy to scramble in the strongest of winds if it meant he got to go home. It didn’t even bother him that he made bogey. His day was, mercifully, over.
The day required a test of mental patience and versatility. Cole, not known to be a long hitter, bombed his drive nearly 350 yards on South Course’s first hole and hit a 60-degree wedge into the green when he normally hits a 9-iron. Erik van Rooyen hit a 4-iron from 180 yards on the South’s sixth hole, playing for 40-50 yards of hurting wind. Danny Walker nearly hit 7-wood from 195 yards on the 12th hole of the North Course, only to take less club and still miss the green long when the wind suddenly died down.
“One of those days where you can't even think about what you're shooting,” said Walker, who shot 2-over 74. He’s 5 under for the tournament, one shot back of leaders Lanto Griffin (72) and Ludvig Åberg (75). “Just got to do your best to hit every shot and just accept whatever happens.”

Danny Walker finishes up-and-down round with birdie at Farmers
For most of the field, that included a few too many big numbers. There were 61 double-bogeys or worse on Thursday. The North Course played to a scoring average of 75.2, a staggering five shots harder than it did in the first round. The only time the North Course played harder was the first round of the 1993 Farmers Insurance Open (77.39). The South Course played slightly harder with a 75.5 scoring average. The field was a combined +481 on Thursday.
“I don't remember the last time it was that hard to get close to the pins,” said Åberg. “The greens were hard and they were tricky.”
The conditions led to a 90-minute stoppage in play as balls were oscillating on the greens and blowing away by the strongest of gusts. That forced the second round to eventually be suspended due to darkness. Twelve groups were still on the course when play was stopped.
The wind is expected to ease on Friday, though not disappear, with forecasted gusts reaching 15-20 mph.
Torrey Pines is known as one of the toughest tests on TOUR. It’s lived up to that billing Thursday.