LA JOLLA Calif. — Amidst the drama of Tiger Woods’ mid-round withdrawal at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, Dustin Johnson quietly made his 2015 debut after what many believe was a six-month suspension for drug use — an assertion Johnson denies and the PGA Tour refuses to confirm.
When play was suspended due to darkness as a result of earlier fog delays, Johnson had one remaining hole and was 2-over par for his round.
“I was a little rusty,’’ Johnson said. “I played OK. I made three bogeys with wedges from the middle of the fairway. I just wanted to have a solid round. I wanted it to be fairly easy. [But] I didn’t make it too easy on myself.’’
The highlight of his day was a holed-out eagle on No. 4 that got him to 2-under at the time.
First-round play is scheduled to resume at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time on Friday before the second round begins.
Phil Mickelson is 1-over par with three holes to play before completing his first round.
Nicholas Thompson had the lead with an 8-under-par 64 when play was suspended. He’s followed closely by Michael Thompson, who’s 7-under and is no relation.
Brooks Koepka, last week’s winner of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, is 6-under along with Cameron Tringale.
Perhaps the most impressive round of the day was posted by Jhonattan Vegas, who shot a 5-under-par 67 on the South Course, which is more than 600 yards longer and has hosted the U.S. Open. He was one of only four players in the top 28 on the leaderboard to play the South.
“It was great to post a great low round on the South Course,’’ Vegas said. “It will make the North Course a little bit easier.’’
All the players who played the South on Thursday will play their respective second rounds on the North Friday and vice versa. Once the cut is made after the second round, the third and fourth rounds are all played on the South Course.
It’s not likely many players — if any — will post a better score on the South Course the rest of the week than the 67 Vegas shot on Thursday.
“I was completely feeling it today,’’ Vegas said. “I really had everything going — my short game, my ball striking.’’
The players had to endure a 2 ¹/₂-hour fog delay before play began Thursday.