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Brooks Koepka's return to the PGA Tour was the headline entering the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open, and after a furious finish on Friday, he found his way into the weekend with a 68 to make the cut on the number. 

Struggling on the tougher South Course on Thursday on his way to a 73, Koepka needed to take advantage of the easier North Course on Friday if he was going to claw his way inside the cut line. He appeared to be trending the right direction after starting on the back nine, making a birdie on No. 14 and an eagle on No. 17 to move to 2 under, which was the projected cut at the time. 

However, his momentum came to a halt with a pair of cruel lip-outs on Nos. 2 and 3 that dropped him back to 1 under for the tournament, and Koepka entered his final six holes of Friday with serious work to do to earn his way into the weekend as the projected cut line moved up to 3 under. 

A birdie on the par-5 fifth got him back in range, and he added another birdie on the par-4 seventh to get onto the cut line at 3 under. He was able to scramble for par from the greenside bunker on No. 8 and then make the two-putt par he needed on No. 9 to earn his way into the weekend in his first PGA Tour event in four years. 

After his round, Koepka said, given the way he hit it on Friday, a 68 felt like the worst-case scenario, but he just couldn't get putts to drop to really push it deep. 

"I thought I played pretty well. I hit a lot of good putts that burnt the edge. I feel like it could've been -- I guess 68 was kind of the worst I could've shot today," Koepka said. "It very easily could've been 64, 65 if a few putts dropped, but that's golf. Sometimes on poa [greens], I felt the speed wasn't quite aggressive enough. I feel like that side might be a hair slower than the South. Got two more rounds to play, which I'm excited about, and it's gonna be a tough golf course -- except for, I don't know which one Rosey's playing." 

While Koepka won't likely find his way into contention for the win this weekend, as he will start the third round 14 shots off leader Justin Rose's blistering pace, it's still a solid start to his PGA Tour return. 

Koepka spoke early in the week about feeling more nervous than usual and not knowing exactly how everyone would respond to his return, and in his first round, he never seemed fully comfortable on the tough South Course. Moving to the North Course presented an opportunity but also pressure to perform, knowing the cut line would continue moving further under par as the day wore on. 

While he still had some wayward tee shots, Koepka seemed more in control of his ball and was able to create more opportunities on the easier of the two courses to get him to the weekend. Making cuts isn't his ultimate goal in returning to the Tour, but on a week in which multiple big names -- including playing partners Max Homa and Ludvig Åberg -- are heading home early, Koepka punching his ticket to the weekend allows him to take a deep breath and move forward in his return to PGA Tour action. 

"It's huge. I wanted to be here all four days. I've never gotten so many congratulations on making a cut before," said Koepka with a smirk. "But no, it feels good. I wanted to play two more days, and I'm excited to challenge myself and really figure out where [my game is] at, and hopefully be a little more aggressive and shoot some good scores." 

Leader

1. Justin Rose (-17): On top of the leaderboard is Rose, the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open winner. Much like he did seven years ago, he has darted away from the field before the weekend even arrives. Rose is four shots clear of second place going into the weekend, and at 17 under, he set the tournament record for lowest score to par after 36 holes.

After a sensational 2025 campaign saw him get back in the winner's circle (for the first time since 2023), contend at majors and help Europe win a road Ryder Cup, the 45-year-old Englishman has picked up where he left off. Rose tore up the North Course to shoot a 62 on Thursday and kept his foot on the pedal on the tougher South Course on Friday to post a 65 that he noted was perhaps even better. 

"I'm feeling great. Obviously, yeah, that was two special rounds of golf," Rose said. "Today, probably even more so, just given it's hard to often follow up a low one. Obviously, this week you kind of go from the easy course to the tough course, but it was really kind of cool to keep momentum up out there." 

Rose highlighted his decision-making and ability to keep the round on track as the thing that made him happiest after two sensational rounds to start his tournament. 

"I felt like decision-making was spot on in terms of how I managed my game," Rose said. "And obviously every shot was not going to be perfect out there, but when I was in a little bit of trouble, the putter would come through for me or I'd be disciplined with when I was slightly out of position. Really played for the fat of the green and [to] give myself like a good two-putt opportunity from 40 feet. So I felt like all in all I managed the game -- managed the game really well, more than played perfectly."

Rose did finally make a bogey on the 12th hole after starting the tournament with 29 consecutive holes without a blemish, but he bounced back immediately to erase that bogey off the card with a birdie on the 13th to right the ship. He closed out his round in style, stuffing his approach on the 17th to make a birdie on the difficult par 4 and then dialed in a wedge to inside two feet to set up a birdie on the par-5 18th. 

Rose will head into the weekend as the strong favorite to pick up his second career win at Torrey Pines and 13th PGA Tour title of his career. As is often the case with Rose, it's his iron play and putting that is leading the way to a hot start, as he's fourth in strokes gained approach and fifth in strokes gained putting for the week to create his advantage on top. 

Contenders

2. Seamus Power (-13)
T3. Joel Dahmen, Max McGreevy (-11)
5. Si Woo Kim (-10)
T6. Michael Thorbjornsen, Sahith Theegala, Maverick McNealy and three others (-9)

Dahmen and Power both ended their round with an eagle on the par-5 9th (their 18th) on the North Course to stay somewhat within touch of Rose at the top. Theegala holed a bunker shot for eagle on the 18th on the South Course to jump into the top 10. 

Dahmen's 9-under 63 was the round of the day, as he carded three eagles total on his round to make a major move up the leaderboard and set himself up for another strong finish at Torrey Pines after a top 10 finish a year ago. Power's 66 on Friday was solid, but it's his 65 from Thursday on the South Course that has to give him confidence going into the weekend. He'll need some more rounds in the 60s on the difficult South Course if he's going to track down Rose. 

The rest will need something truly spectacular to have a chance at the win, given the lead Rose has built, but a top 10 this early in the season is always welcome as guys try to get their feet under them and pick up important points to start the season. 

Notable players who missed the cut

  • Xander Schauffele (-2)
  • Patrick Cantlay (-2)
  • Max Greyserman (-2)
  • Will Zalatoris (-1)
  • J.J. Spaun (E)
  • Akshay Bhatia (+1)
  • Max Homa (+1)
  • Billy Horschel (+5)
  • Ludvig Åberg (+6)

Updated 2026 Farmers Insurance Open odds, picks

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

  • Justin Rose (-220)
  • Seamus Power (9-1)
  • Si Woo Kim (16-1)
  • Max McGreevy (20-1)
  • Maverick McNealy (25-1)
  • Joel Dahmen (30-1)
  • Michael Thorbjornsen (30-1)

Given his history at this event (and tough golf courses in general) as well as the form he's shown the first two days, I'm not sure how you bet anyone other than Rose. That said, taking a -220 favorite with 36 holes to go feels steep. Kim is the guy who plays an aggressive-enough style that could lead to him creating opportunities to shoot the kind of scores needed to erase a seven-shot deficit at a course like the South Course. Now, that comes with the understanding he also could get overly aggressive and put some big numbers on the card, but at this point, if you're taking any position other than Rose, you have to swing on upside.