Rory McIlroy says he will be in a confident mood going into his second round at the Farmers Insurance Open after opening with a four-under 68 at Torrey Pines.
The 31-year-old flew to California this week off the back of finishing third at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and was four-under after the front nine on the South Course at the venue that plays host to the US Open later this year.
After a level-par back nine, McIlroy finds himself four shots off the lead held jointly by Patrick Reed and Alex Noren.
"Four under through nine, so I'm a little disappointed I didn't pick up a couple more on the way in, especially with the two par-fives and not picking up any shots there," said McIlroy.
"But I think any time you shoot 68 on the South Course here you've got to be pretty happy.
"It's a good start, and we don't know what the weather's going to be like tomorrow, so it was nice to get a good one in and play on the slightly easier golf course in the worse conditions."
McIlroy led by a shot going into the final round in Abu Dhabi last Sunday but failed to convert that to a win as Tyrrell Hatton took the title. The Co Down ace says he is already feeling more comfortable off the tee so far this week.
"It gives me a lot of confidence, especially with how I drove it parts of last week," he added.
"It wasn't very good, it was a little 'guidey' at times. But it was my first tournament back out, so maybe I was a little unsure of what I was doing.
"I made a decision today that I'm just going to fully commit to every swing I make off the tee, and it worked, I hit some great tee shots, took advantage of some of them.
"Didn't take advantage of some others on the back nine, but I was happy with how I hit it out there.
"I'm really happy with how I drove the ball, hit some good iron shots, and I think that going from Bermuda greens last week in Abu Dhabi straight to poa here, it's a bit of an adjustment.
"So to get on those bent greens on the North tomorrow, I may find that a little easier."
