Woodland, Choi lead at Torrey Pines

Phil Mickelson had to leave the golf course to play one of his shots at Torrey Pines, an early sign of the mass exodus Friday in the Farmers Insurance Open.
By closing with three straight bogeys on the easier North Course, Mickelson missed the cut.
At least he was in good company.
Jason Day, the defending champion and No. 2 player in the world, missed the cut for the first time in nearly eight months. Also leaving early was Rickie Fowler, the No. 4 player in the world who was riding high from his victory five days ago in Abu Dhabi,
Throw in Justin Rose (No. 7 in the world), and another gorgeous day along the Pacific bluffs felt like Black Friday.
Not losing sleep over the surprising departures were Gary Woodland and K.J. Choi, who shared the lead going into the weekend; and Dustin Johnson, who made a risky escape on the one wild tee shot he hit and wound up one shot behind.
Woodland powered his way to a 5-under 67 on the South Course, which he prefers because of his length and the left-to-right shape of his tee shots. Woodland reached two par 5s in two and was just off the green on two other par 5s. He made birdie on all of them to help atone for a few mistakes on the back nine. He had to make a 15-foot putt on the par-5 18th to be the first player to post at 9-under 135.
Choi was a mild surprise, having not won on the PGA Tour in nearly five years. The 45-year-old South Korean shot his 67 on the North Course.
Their games are different, though they shared one thought – power always helps, but accuracy is paramount on the Torrey Pines courses with thick rough.
“When I drive the ball in the fairway out here I’m having some short irons into par 4s, I’m having mid-irons into some of these par 5s,” Woodland said.
Johnson was pounding driver on the North Course and making enough short putts to move up the leaderboard. Then came a shout of “Fore right!” and the crackle of a ball through a Torrey pine on the seventh hole. He had a tree right in front of him, no path to the green except through a V-gap in the tree about a foot wide. Johnson managed, nearly made birdie and finished up his 66. He was at 8-under 136.
Scott Brown had a 71 on the South to join Billy Horschel and Martin Laird at 7-under 137.
Rohanna makes cut: Megan Khang shot a 5-under 68 in strong wind for a share of the lead in the season-opening Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, her first event as an LPGA Tour member.
The 18-year-old Khang eagled the par-5 fourth hole and had four birdies and a bogey in wind gusting to 30 mph at the Ocean Club to match England’s Charley Hull and Japan’s Haru Nomura at 8-under 138
“It was such a grind,” Khang said. “To come out with 68 is incredible. Can’t wait for the weekend.”
Hull and Nomura each shot 70.
Waynesburg’s Rachel Rohanna, in her first year on the LPGA Tour, overcame a rocky start in Thursday’s opening round and shot 5-under 68 to make the cut. Rohanna was 12 strokes better in the second round than in the first. She had six birdies Friday, including three in a row on the back 9. She hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation.
Rohanna is 2-over for the tournament and trails the leaders by 10 strokes.
Khang, from Rockland, Mass., tied for sixth at Q-school in December to earn a tour card.
“I think my game’s at a good place right now and I definitely think I can hold my own,” Khang said. “I was confident in my game. I just didn’t know how I was going to play right now being a rookie and under the circumstances. But I’m just having so much fun out here. I just love it out here.”