2022 Genesis Invitational: Joaquin Niemann, inches away from history

The Genesis Invitational, a tournament with a rich history nearly produced another historic moment during Thursday’s opening round at Riviera Country Club. 23-year-old Chilean sensation Joaquin Niemann fired an opening 63, eight under par round that was two strokes shy of the tournament’s 18 hole record.

A week that has drawn up one of the strongest fields in event history has produced great excitement for the 2022 Genesis Invitational. All ten of the top ten players in the Official World Golf Rankings are in the field this week. Joaquin Niemann talked about his love for the course and this event after his fantastic opening round saying:

"Yeah, I think it’s got to be one of my best days on the golf course,especially in a place like this with this history. Riviera Country Club is one of my favorite golfcourses and this event is my favorite during the year."

It’s a sentiment that not many would argue with, the Genesis is right up there with the likes of the Arnold Palmer, Memorial, and World Golf Championships as some of the best events on the PGA Tour schedule outside of the majors.

Joaquin Niemann came up two shots shy of the tournament record of 61, instead, he will have to settle for a three-shot lead heading into round two.

George Archer in 1983, and Ted Tryba in 1999 hold the record of 61, and Niemann could have joined that list after a sensational opening round. Niemann birdied the par 4, 7th hole, on his back nine Thursday after starting his round on the 10th at Riviera earlier in the day.

The birdie on the 7th presented him with a chance to tie the course record if he were to go on and birdie his remaining two holes. Niemann nearly gave himself an opportunity to go on and break the course record, had his 25-foot birdie putt on the par 3, 6th hole, not missed by inches.  Unfortunately for the Chilean, the result on the par 4, 8th hole, would result in a similar outcome.

Joaquin was errant with his tee-shot on the 405 yard 8th hole, and after a remarkable recovery with his second put him back into position for an outside birdie chance, he once again had his 23-foot putt miss the cup by mere inches.

The 23-year-old hardly put a foot wrong all day and he will be a real threat to win this week, the talent has certainly always been there, even without multiple wins so far.

“I hit the ball great off the tee. My iron play, I was hitting it really close so that makes it a lot easier. The greens were pretty good also today and it wasn’t that windy. So yeah, I think the whole game was pretty good today,” Niemann recollected.

He led the field by almost a whopping two strokes tee to green on Thursday, so yes, the “whole game was pretty good”.

It is difficult to believe that a player as talented as Joaquin Niemann only has one win on Tour to this point

Niemann picked up his sole PGA Tour win at The Greenbrier back in 2019 and if he can hold on this week he would achieve not only his second PGA win but also the biggest win by far in his young career to this point. He has plenty of experience of being in contention even without multiple wins however, he was 2nd at the Tournament Of Champions in Hawaii in 2021, finished 3rd at the memorable BMW Championship that was eventually won by Jon Rahm in 2020, and was 6th at the Farmers just a few weeks ago.

A win at his ‘favorite tournament of the year’ though would be extra special he said, “The place we’re at, L.A.’s beautiful, I like it, and the course is one of my favorites. Just being here, being in a tournament hosted by Tiger also makes it a lot really special. I think obviously all the top players playing this week,so that make it a lot better also.”

He may have missed out on history on Thursday, but he still has time to make both personal and tournament history this week with a win. The 72 hole record has been held by Lanny Wadkins since 1985 when he recorded a 264. The Chilean can claim that record with three more rounds exactly like the one he produced on Thursday.