Ex-world amateur No. 1 plays like old pro
During last weekend’s Quicken Loans National at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm north of the nation’s capital, Joaquin Niemann warmed up for the third round next to Tiger Woods.
“Impressive,” Woods said.
Impressive, indeed. The teenager from Chile continued to open eyes of his competitors and golf fans Thursday with a pace-setting, bogey-free, 7-underpar 63 in A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Niemann, 19, who won the Latin America Amateur this year and turned pro after playing in the Masters, hit 13 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation on the Old White TPC to quickly get on the first page of the leaderboard.
“Playing on the PGA Tour with these guys is awesome. I thought I was going to be in college this year,” Niemann said. “I was 6 under after 10. After that I thought I was going really low. My game was feeling really good, and my putter was good. So all my game was good today.”
At the top of the leaderboard at day’s end was Webb Simpson, who shot 9-under 61. Whee Kim was at 62, followed by Niemann, then Kelly Kraft at 64. In a large group tied for ninth at 66 were defending champion Xander Schauffele and Phil Mickelson, while Bubba Watson, the only three-time winner in the 2017-18 wraparound season, shot 68.
Niemann seems to feel right at home on the Old White TPC. Playing as an amateur last year in the Greenbrier, he closed with a bogey-free 64 and tied for 29th. Sunday in the Quicken Loans National, he closed with a 65 to tie for 17th. It was the latest strong performance in a year in which he’s wasted little time acclimating to the best tour in professional golf.
The former amateur world No. 1 finished sixth in the Valero Texas Open in his professional debut. Niemann needed just five starts as a professional to secure special temporary membership, and he’s now allowed to accept unlimited sponsor’s exemptions for the rest of the season. He also tied for eighth in the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial and tied for sixth in the Memorial.
Niemann is on the verge of earning his full PGA Tour card for the upcoming season. He would join Jordan Spieth (2013) and Jon Rahm (2016) as the only players in the past 10 years to earn their PGA Tour card without going through Q-School or the Web.com Tour. Niemann plans on playing four more events this year.