“I’m happy with the way I played, absolutely,’’ Woods said. “I could have been a lot better if I took care of the par 5s a little bit more, but obviously, I didn’t do that.’’
Kang, a 24-year-old rookie, finished with back-to-back birdies on the North Course for an 8-under 64, giving him a one-shot lead over Alex Prugh and Rickie Fowler. Another rookie, Chris Kirk, shot 66.
Phil Mickelson shot 32 on the back nine for a 5-under 67 to match the best score on the tougher South Course, which hosted the 2008 US Open that Woods won in a playoff. Also at 67 on the South was John Daly, whose last win came in 2004 at this tournament. He is the last player to win at Torrey Pines when Woods was in the field.
“This place means a lot to me,’’ Daly said. “The top golfers play here every year. That says something.’’
Woods no longer is No. 1 — he has slipped to No. 3 in the world ranking and can’t improve on that this week — but he has not played the public course he has practically owned since that US Open in 2008. He missed the next year because of knee surgery, and last year was in a Mississippi addiction clinic after being caught in extramarital affairs.
“Welcome back to Torrey,’’ was a popular phrase from the gallery throughout his round, in which Woods played solidly except on the greens. He made only two putts longer than 3 feet — a 10-foot par save on No. 8, and a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 sixth that bounced along until catching the right corner of the cup.
“I didn’t leave myself any putts,’’ Woods said. “I kept leaving myself above the hole. And I didn’t take advantage of the par 5s.’’
Even so, he looked more like the Woods who ended last year with a playoff loss at the Chevron World Challenge, not the guy who played so poorly that he didn’t win on the PGA Tour for the first time in his career.
The top of the leaderboard was filled with youth, starting with Kang, who earned his card through Qualifying School. Fowler was voted the PGA Tour rookie of the year in 2010 on a ballot that included Prugh. Kirk finished second on the Nationwide Tour last year.
