Chris Stroud’s wife will understand if the Port Neches-Groves ex snuggled up with his putter Thursday night in San Diego.

Stroud, in the second tournament of his comeback from a shoulder injury, rolled in putts from all over the greens on Torrey Pines’ South Course en route to an opening six-under-par 66 in the Farmers Insurance Open. It left him tied for sixth, four strokes off the sizzling pace of leader, Jon Rahn who posted a 62 on the easier North Course.

When the smoke had cleared from Stroud’s flaming putter, he’d buried seven birdies, including a couple of bombs from 30 and 32 feet. He also made birdies from 17 feet, 15-11, 12-9, 8-8 and 6-1. Not surprisingly, he finished the day No. 1 in the field in strokes gained putting.

The deadly putting helped Stroud overcome struggles off the tee that saw him hit only 5 of 14 fairways and wind up 132nd in driving accuracy. From some pretty gnarly rough, however, he did manage to find 14 of 18 greens which left in T27 in greens in regulation.

“I went back to a short putter after last week and had a great feel,” he said. “Plus these greens were outstanding. We started early and the ball rolled so true. It was good to see putts falling. And it was really nice to shoot a good score on this course.

“I have never played well here. I think 69, maybe 68, is my best score on the South Course. It is such a beast and is really tough with the rough the way it is.”

Stroud, playing the back nine first, opened quickly with birdies at 10 and 12. He stayed two under until sinking a birdie from 30 feet on the par-4 17th and dropping another from nearly 13 feet on the par-5 18th. That enabled him to make the turn in 32.

His other birdies came at the par-4 fourth, the par-3 eighth and the par-5 ninth. His only bogey came on the par-4 seventh. He closed each nine by going birdie-birdie.

“Getting two under on the first three holes was a real boost,” he said. “My team put together some stats that showed last year I averaged being two over the first six holes. Now I’m really focused on starting strong. It has changed my approach on the practice tee before a round.”

The 66 was Stroud’s lowest in competition since he opened with a 65 last July in the Canadian Open. There were also three 66s in his 2017-18 season. They came at the PGA Championship, the Waste Management Open and Tournament of Champions.

As happy as he was with the 66, Stroud was trying to keep his situation real.

“I am still rusty. I still have a long way to go. This was a good day, thanks to how many putts I made. I have to get better with my driver, but I don’t feel like I’m far off. I just have to stay patient and try to get one percent better every day. I will get there.”