SAN DIEGO – If there was any question as to how Brooks Koepka would be received in his return to the PGA TOUR, the fans answered Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open with a resounding: “Welcome back, Brooksy!”

The nine-time PGA TOUR winner may have carded a 1-over 73 in his first round back as an official TOUR member, but the score was of little importance to the galleries on every hole at Torrey Pines’ South Course who were eager to voice their support.

“The fans were awesome today,” said the five-time major winner, who played alongside Ludvig Åberg and Max Homa. “I think it was very cool to hear, ‘Welcome back.’ It was pretty much every hole, which is great. I loved to hear it, and I'm excited for the next few days.”

Koepka admitted to nerves ahead of his round and appeared to get emotional when asked why a veteran like himself would have first-tee jitters.

“Just because I care,” said Koepka. “I think I've fallen back in love with the game. And honestly, watching my son play a little bit and wanting to be able to see him watch me, or I guess want him to watch me play well and realize how much this game's given me, how fun it is and how cool it is to just be out here. …

“It wasn't that you fall out of it, but I think you can fall deeper in love with it,” he continued. “I mean, I haven't played competitively for … 14 weeks, so it's a lot of time off, a lot of time to think, a lot of time to reflect. If you do that for a while sitting on the couch, you can go pretty deep on what you feel. I'm just excited.”

It was a steady round for the 35-year-old Koepka, who made two bogeys – at Nos. 4 and 13 – against a lone birdie at the 18th. His assessment of the day: “Pretty good.”

“I struck it really well,” he said. “The driver wasn't – I didn't hit enough fairways. If I was able to get to the back of the ball I felt like I hit a good quality shot. Didn't really make any putts besides 18 right there. Yeah, it felt good. It's been a while since I played competitive golf, so I like the way I'm playing, I just need to kind of play my way into it.”

At 1 over on the day, Koepka is 11 shots behind leader Justin Rose, who fired a flawless 10-under 62 on Torrey’s North Course. Hot on his heels at 9 under is Justin Lower, with Max Greyserman and Hideki Matsuyama two back at 8 under. Ireland’s Seamus Power posted the low round of the day on the South Course, carding a 7-under 65.

For Koepka, being in the mix with all the names – new and familiar – has brought a sense of appreciation that he is all too happy to voice on repeat.

“Everything,” he said when asked what he’s appreciated most this week. “Just the opportunity to be out here. I think that's the main thing. Just being out here and seeing how quickly this has all kind of come together. It's kind of blown my mind, and I'm just grateful to be out here and have a chance to compete with these guys. …

“I care about what everybody's thinking out here, what everybody's doing, and just trying to be as good of a person and good of a player as I can be. Just wanted a warm reception. Just like everybody else, you walk into a room nobody wants to feel exiled, they just want to be loved. I mean, that's human nature I think.”

If Day 1 is any indication, Brooks Koepka isn’t just back on TOUR – he’s back where he belongs.