Torrey Pines North Course is the place to be, as usual

Reporting from La Jolla — Kyle Stanley is listed at 5 feet 11 inches tall and 165 pounds. Stanley says that’s really 160. Or maybe less.

Why quibble? The 24-year-old from Gig Harbor, Wash., smacked a 380-yard drive on the 515-yard par-five 18th hole on the Torrey Pines North Course and then hit an eight-iron to within two feet. Made the putt. Eagle. Easy.

That’s how Stanley made his Thursday round of 10-under-par 62 seem. Easy.

Same for Spencer Levin, whose back-nine 29 helped him to a 62 as well and into a tie for the lead after the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open. Bill Haas is alone in third place after his 63, also on the North Course.

Only one golfer, Marc Turnesa, among the top 16 played the South Course, which is the more difficult and is the one where the U.S. Open was held in 2008. The final two rounds will be at the South Course.

The successes were everywhere on the North Course. John Huh, a 21-year-old who almost went to Cal State Northridge and is a PGA Tour rookie after earning his card at the qualifying tournament last year, had three eagles in his round of 64, which put him in a four-way tie for fourth with Josh Teater, Rod Pampling and Vijay Singh, who will turn 49 next month.

Three-time champion and San Diego native Phil Mickelson, 41, played the South Course, where he found only trouble.

Mickelson bogeyed his first hole when he couldn’t get up and down from the sand and shot a five-over 77. He is tied for 147th after his worst round here since a 78 in 2005.

Only six golfers had worse scores. Mickelson started badly last week at the Humana Challenge too, opening with a 74. He scrambled to eventually make the cut and finish in a tie for 49th.

A year ago Mickelson lost by a shot here to Bubba Watson and was aiming for a final eagle to try to force a tie. This year he will struggle to make the cut.

“It’s a little disappointing. ?I felt ready and sharper than I have in a long time starting the year,” Mickelson said. “So to shoot those numbers, I don’t get it. I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t able to focus.”

Huh almost had a scholarship to Northridge. He needed two more core classes and took them in summer school, but the NCAA Clearinghouse didn’t accept the work. Instead Huh played on the Korean tour until he earned his PGA Tour card last fall. He made the cut in his first PGA Tour event, two weeks ago in Hawaii.

He eagled two par-fives on the North Course, the first and 14th holes and had a two on the par-four fifth hole.

“I played really good,” Huh said, an understatement. He has never had three eagles in one round.

Levin was pretty sure he’d never shot a 29 for nine holes as a pro and said he didn’t realize how well he was playing on the back nine, where he had seven birdies.

“It’s weird,” Levin said. “People talk about getting in the zone. I never even know what that means. Maybe that’s why I shot that, because I just kept trying to hit every shot as good as I could and I had a good rhythm going. My mind was pretty clear. It just worked out good.”

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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