SAN DIEGO — If anyone is comfortable on grass — long, short or something in between — it should be Adam Schenk.
He grew up on a sod farm in Vincennes, Ind., where Zoysia, fescue and bluegrass — as well as beans, corn and wheat — were among the cash crops on the family's 1,500 acres.
What does he remember most about farm life?
"A lot of mowing," said Schenk, who turned 30 on Wednesday, "but we had a seven-acre field of Zoysia in front of our house. So I would just go out and have basically a driving range whenever I wanted."
Schenk looked right at home on the greens Thursday during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, reeling off 10 birdies — including eight straight from the fourth through 11th holes — for a 10-under 62 on the North Course.
A lip out on the 18th hole cost Schenk a shot at equaling the course record of 61 shared by Brandt Snedeker (2007) and Mark Brooks (1990) and standing alone atop the leaderboard.
Instead, Schenk, ranked 165th in the world, shares the 36-hole Farmers lead at 13-under 131 with two of the game's best players, top-ranked Jon Rahm and No. 6 Justin Thomas.
Rahm backed up Wednesday's opening-round 66 (the low score on the South) with a 65 on the North in his bid for a second Farmers championship to pair with the 2017 title.
"For how little fairways I hit (four of 14), I was able to hit a lot of those greens from the rough, which is not the easiest thing to do," Rahm said.
Thomas was nearly as good as Schenk on the North, carding a 63 to move into contention.
"I drove it well, something you've got to do out here on the North Course," Thomas said. "I mean, both courses, but if you drive it well, you've got a lot of wedges, a lot of short holes, four par 5s. Made some nice putts when I needed to. ... It was a solid day."
Cameron Tringale was a shot behind the leaders after a 65 on the North. Two behind was Peter Malnati, who had a 66 on the North.
Alex Smalley matched Schenk with a 62 on the North, joining five others who are four strokes off the lead. Like Schenk, Smalley had a bogey-free round, but he had an eagle on the par-5 17th to go with eight birdies.
First-round leader Billy Horschel, who shot 9-under 63 Wednesday on the North, dropped into a tie for 12th at 8-under with a second-round 73 on the South.
The cut came at 3-under as the 156-man field was trimmed to 79 players (top 65 and ties) for the final two rounds on the South.
Among the name players missing this weekend are Bryson DeChambeau and Rickie Fowler, playing partners who both missed the cut by a stroke after touring the more challenging South.
DeChambeau was 2-under after the first round, meaning he needed to dip into red numbers Thursday on the South to extend his stay. He birdied the last two holes, but earlier struggles meant he managed only an even-par 72 for the day.
Fowler was 6-under after the first day before struggling to a 4-over 76 on the South. Double bogeys at the 5th and 11th holes were his undoing.
Local favorite Phil Mickelson shot 1-under 71 on the North, leaving him at 3-over after a first-day 76.
If only his putter was working the way it was for Schenk, who estimated four of his birdies came with putts of at least 30 feet.
"I don't think I remember them all, my memory's not that great," Schenk said. "Just a lot of long putts. It's not like I was hitting it to 10 feet every time making the putts. I had a lot of lengthy ones."
Schenk said he was 12 or 13 years old the last time he had eight straight birdies.
"Everything that could have went my way went my way," Schenk said. "I made, like I said, probably six putts that you really don't make during a round, or maybe more. ... Obviously, it's great to putt like that."
As the putts kept falling and the birdies kept coming (he nearly eagled the par-5 17th), Schenk was in such a zone that the thought occurred he might be flirting with a 59 before the lip-out on 18.
"I didn't think par was 70 (it's 72) just because there's so many par 5s, but just in the back of my mind I'm like maybe a par 71," Schenk said. "And I kind of lost track of exactly how many under I was and I didn't know if that was possible to shoot 59 and I didn't.
"I didn't want to look at the scorecard and jinx it because I was just trying to do the best that I could in that situation (on 18).
"Hit a nice 8-iron in there and then lipped it out."
Schenk then asked caddie Mark Carens if par was 70 or 71 on the North.
"He said, 'Yeah, it's 70, because that putt I guess would have been to shoot 59.' I was like, 'no way it wasn't.'
"He was just joking with me like he likes to do."
Things get serious now.
Schenk is in the final group Friday — with Rahm and Thomas — with a chance for his first PGA Tour title and the $1,512,000 paycheck that comes with it.
The biggest check he's ever cashed is $371,000 for a third-place finish three months ago at the Shriners Children's Open.
"It was nice," Schenk said of his day, "and it would be nice to finish off with a couple more rounds."
