Niemann puts on quite a show as Tiger struggles after delays
Joaquin Niemann could figure out where Tiger Woods was on the golf course at the Memorial from the mass of people following him a few groups ahead, and he had a pretty good idea what he was doing from all the noise, at least before Woods put a putter in his hands.
The few that stuck behind for the 19-year-old Chilean saw another good show.
In his fifth start as a pro, Niemann finished with two birdies over his last three holes for a 4-under 68 and a share of the lead with Kyle Stanley, who had a 66. He finished with an 8-foot birdie on the 18th hole.
Woods made Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, sound like a rock concert until storms arrived. He holed out with a sand wedge from 97 yards for eagle on the par-5 11th hole, and then his tee shot on the par-3 12th struck the flag waving in the wind and settled 6 feet behind the hole.
And then he sat out a weather delay that lasted just under 90 minutes at Dublin, Ohio, and he missed four putts under 7 feet the rest of the way.
“It could have been easily a nice little 62 or 63,” Woods said. “I turned it into a 67.”
And he was six shots behind with nearly two dozen players in front of him.
Stanley, who won the Quicken Loans National last summer, was atop the leader board for much of the day and was starting to pull away until a poor tee shot at No. 6 led to bogey. He finished with a par save from just off the ninth green and reached 11-under 133.
On the other side of the course was Niemann, the No. 1 amateur in the world and Latin American Amateur champion who wanted
to play the Masters before turning pro. He looks his age when his braces shine every time he smiles. He plays beyond his years.
Already with a pair of top 10s on the PGA Tour, Niemann now finds himself in the last group going into the weekend at the tournament Jack Nicklaus built, and he doesn’t appear to be the least bit nervous about being there.
“It feels really nice to be on top of the leader board,” he said. “It does feel really nice for tomorrow.”
Byeong Hun An had a 67 and was two shots behind.
Among those three off the lead were Hideki Matsuyama (71), who earned his first PGA Tour title at the Memorial three years ago, and Jason Day, who is a member at Muirfield Village and has never come close to winning.
LPGA
Sarah Jane Smith outpaced the thunderstorms and the rest of the field at the U.S. Women’s Open.
The Australian extended her lead to four strokes after a second straight 5-under 67 at Shoal Creek in Birmingham, Alabama. Smith got her round in before a 2-hour, 49-minute delay caused by thunderstorms, weather that ultimately forced play to be halted with a little daylight left.
Now, she enters the weekend leading a major championship, unfamiliar territory, but also with 36 holes down. Other contenders such as Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn still must finish Round 2, which will be completed today with the low 60 scorers plus ties making the cut. Half the field didn’t finish the round. Smith is at 10-under 134 heading into the weekend after failing to make the cut in five of her previous six U.S. Open tries.