SAN DIEGO — Sunny and 72?

Try soggy, with way more scores above 72 than below it in Thursday’s opening round of the Genesis Invitational.

A winter storm that arrived Wednesday night in San Diego made for cold, wet and windy conditions at the Torrey Pines Golf Course.

It prompted Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player, to suggest: “The only other time we really see weather like this would be The Open Championship.”

Scores soared given the circumstances. The average score on the par-72 South Course was 74.28, two strokes higher than it was three weeks ago for the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open. Only 13 of the golfers in the 72-man field broke par on the 7,765-yard South Course.

The lowest scorer among them was journeyman Denny McCarthy, who assumed the first-round lead with an eagle on the 574-yard, par-5 18th hole.

McCarthy smashed his drive 308 yards off the tee and put his second shot within 7 1/2 feet of the cup before completing a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke advantage over Seamus Power and Patrick Rodgers.

Scheffler was two strokes back with Davis Thompson and Wyndham Clark after shooting 70.

Seven others, including San Diegan Michael Kim, were three strokes behind the leader at 1-under 71.

Rory McIlroy was tied for 14th with five others after an even-par 72, four shots off the pace.

Rain came and went, as did the wind. The temperature never reached 60 while wind gusted to 28 mph, which made it feel 10 degrees cooler.

It likely chased away some potential spectators. There were only a couple groups with galleries that numbered more than a dozen people, and even those may have only been huddled together for warmth.

“I think it’s really fun,” Scheffler said. “I think on tour sometimes you always see golf courses in their best conditions, typically with the best weather. … It’s a different test and I like the variety.”

McCarthy didn’t mind it, either.

“I’m a grindy competitor,” said the Maryland native, who is looking for his first PGA Tour win in his 194th start. “So this is — I knew it was going to be a challenge today and I came out with the attitude that I was just going to have fun and try to embrace it as much as I could.”

McCarthy’s eagle vaulted him past Power and Rodgers, both with 3-under 69s, who were in the first group off the first tee. It allowed them to play during conditions that were cold and wet, but they mostly avoided the rainy, windy conditions that chased the late groups to the clubhouse.

Still, Rodgers said, “The daunting nature of knowing you’ve got to spend 18 holes, with the rough the way that it is, the length of the golf course and the weather that was forecast, it’s no easy task.”

“As soon as you miss a fairway, you’re in big trouble,” said Power, adding, “The trickiest part of the day, which I wouldn’t have expected, is they put a lot of pins in higher spots. With the softness of the greens it was difficult to get short irons and wedges close to the hole, tough to take enough spin off it. I thought that was one of the surprising tough things.”

Others would argue nothing was more daunting than getting out of the rough. The Golf Channel at one point stitched together clips of several players roughing it. The most memorable moment was when Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg had a huge chunk of turf at the end of his club after taking a whack.

“You could start a sod farm with that one,” a broadcaster quipped.

Preferred lies were used in the first round — and can be expected for Friday’s second round as well — allowing players to lift, clean and place their balls in the fairway. That meant mud wasn’t on the ball, but it was still wet and, at times, wild.

How else to explain Jordan Spieth hooking a 3-wood 65 yards to the left from the 13th fairway?

“I haven’t hooked it like that in a long time,” Spieth was overheard saying on The Golf Channel broadcast.

The wind took its turn at times, like when McIlroy crushed his tee shot into the wind on the 614-yard, par-5 ninth hole. The drive went 280 yards, 25 yards shorter than McIlroy’s average drive last year, when he ranked fourth on the PGA Tour in driving distance.

The National Weather Service called for heavy rain Thursday night. The forecast for Friday’s second round was mostly cloudy with a chance of showers.

That should make things more pleasant for spectators. The wet grounds should still make it an adventure for the golfers.

Notable

The flags at each hole have the Genesis Invitational logo on one side and the hole number on the other. Except at No. 7, which has a blank white flag.

It is in honor of tournament host Tiger Woods’ mother, Kultida, who passed away Feb. 4.

Kultida Woods was a native of Thailand who observed the Buddhist faith. The color white represents learning and knowledge In Buddhism and 7 is regarded as the primary number of magic.

South No. 7 also has significant meaning for Woods. It was where he finished out Rocco Mediate to win the 2008 U.S. Open.

— No one escaped without at least one bogey on their card, which had not happened in the opening round of a tour event since the 2024 Truist Championship.

— The top four finishers at last month’s Farmers Insurance Open were winner Harris English, Sam Stevens, Andrew Novak and Sungjae Im, who tied for fourth. On Thursday, Novak shot 71, followed by Stevens (72), Im (74) and English (75).

— After Friday’s round, the 72-man field will be trimmed to the low 50 scores and ties as well as any players within 10 strokes of the 36-hole lead. There are 68 players (including McCarthy) within 10 strokes of the lead coming into the second round.

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