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By Christopher Powers
After finishing 2019 on a ridiculous run of form, Rory McIlroy went home to Northern Ireland for the holidays, opting to skip the Hero World Challenge as well as the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Prior to Thursday at Torrey Pines, the world No. 2 had not played a competitive round since November.

You wouldn’t have known that by the way he played, as McIlroy opened 2020 with a five-under 67 on the North Course, which puts him one off the lead of Denmark’s Sebastian Cappelen at the Farmers Insurance Open. While this is only his second appearance in the tournament, the first coming a year ago, the tournament already seems to be growing on him.

“It feels good to be back. It’s a beautiful place to start the year,” McIlroy during his Wednesday press conference. “It’s a golf tournament I’ve always enjoyed watching on TV. A lot of really cool things have happened here over the years and it was exciting to get to play it for the first time last year. One year in, I feel a little bit more comfortable with the golf courses and all that.”

Those “cool things” McIlroy is alluding to might be the many wins Tiger Woods has racked up over the years at Torrey Pines. Woods, also back in action on Thursday for the first time in 2020, shot a three-under 69. He can set the record for all time PGA Tour wins this week (83) with a victory. A win would also be his eighth at the Farmers, the last coming in 2013.

Jon Rahm, a former winner of the event, played alongside Woods on the North Course and finished with a four-under 68.

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