A player could be forgiven for thinking about winning the tournament if getting it to nine-under through 17 holes on the first day.
Certainly, no one would be worried about missing the cut at that stage.
However, that's exactly what happened to Max Greyserman at the Farmer's Insurance Open, where a lot changed over the course of two rounds at Torrey Pines.
Starting the tournament on the North Course, which is regarded as a bit more straightforward than the South, the 30-year-old reached nine-under after making a birdie at the par-5 17th.
His sole bogey of the opening round came on the 18th, but that would only have been a minor irritation, with an eight-under 64 putting him in a strong position to have a crack at a first PGA Tour title.
However, he started his second round on the South Course with bogeys on the 10th and 11th, and his struggles continued on his back nine with four more dropped shots.
After making eight birdies in round one, his 78 the following day didn't contain a single one, which was largely down to playing most of the round from the rough.
He ended up needing to make birdie on his final hole, the par-5 9th, to make the cut, but his 10-footer failed to drop.
At which point, the man from New Jersey was probably in a state of shock.
Still, the South Course at Torrey Pines is no pushover. Joe Highsmith racked up two trebles on the back nine en route to a 79, and Greyserman was not the only one to post a 78.
The famous South has hosted two US Opens and played to an average score of 72.482. In comparison, the North Course score average was 69.139.
It was on the South where Tiger Woods holed that iconic putt during the final round of the 2008 US Open, which he ended up winning following a playoff with Rocco Mediate.
"North Course clearly is one that you want to try to make the most of and it’s great to do that today for sure," said halfway leader, Justin Rose, who fired a 62.
Greyserman will just be glad to see the back of Torrey.
