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Stanley made eagle on his final hole for a 10-under 62, his best score in two years on the PGA Tour, to tie for the first-round lead with Spencer Levin, who shot 29 on the back nine for his 62 that matched his career best on tour.
“There were just a lot of birdie opportunities out there, so I knew there was a good score – maybe not 10 (under), but I’ll take it,” Stanley said.
The pair were one shot ahead of FedEx Cup champion Bill Haas, who had a double bogey on his 15th hole and still managed a 63. The top 12 on the leaderboard played the North, which played slightly more than 31/2 strokes easier than the South Course, which hosted the U.S. Open four years ago.
The best score from the South was Marc Turnesa’s 66.
Stanley, who starred at Bellarmine Prep and Clemson before turning pro in 2009, played poorly and missed the cut last week at the Humana Challenge. So he spent Monday trying figuring things out. It appears he was successful.
“I think it was just my alignment,” Stanley said. “I was setting up way out, so it was causing me to go really in-to-out on the downswing, so I just squared things up a little bit.”
On the North Course’ par-5 18th hole – at 516 yards the easiest hole in the tournament – a 373-yard drive with a helping wind left Stanley with 173 to the pin. He blasted a cut 8-iron to within 3 feet of the hole and sank the eagle putt to catapult him to the top of the leaderboard heading into today’s second round.
“I think just a round like today gives you confidence that you’re doing the right things,” he said. “The course is in good shape; the fairways are nice, the greens are soft, but you can just be pretty aggressive with your irons.”
Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, went south on the South Course. The three-time champion and San Diego favorite thought his game was rounding into form when he came home from the Humana Challenge. Instead, he hit into 11 bunkers, missed a 3-foot birdie putt on the final hole and signed for a 77 – his highest score at Torrey Pines since a 78 in the third round of 2005.
“Obviously, I made some bad swings just in the wrong spot and so forth,” Mickelson said. “I felt like my game was ready heading in, and I don’t know what to say about the score. Because it was pathetic.”
Vijay Singh, Rod Pampling, Josh Teater and tour rookie John Huh were at 64, with Huh making three eagles. Camilo Villegas and Justin Leonard were among those at 65.
Of the 54 players who shot in the 60s, only 13 of them were on the South Course.
MCILROY IN LEAD
Rory McIlroy opened his season by outplaying Tiger Woods in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, shooting a 5-under 67 for a share of the lead.
Woods shot a 70 in a threesome with McIlroy and top-ranked Luke Donald, who finished with a 71. Robert Karlsson tied for the lead while Gareth Maybin, Richard Finch and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet were one stroke back.
MALLON NEW CAPTAIN
Meg Mallon, a four-time major champion – including two U.S. Women’s Open titles – is the next U.S. captain for the Solheim Cup, scheduled for 2013 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colo.
