Hot Chilean builds on his international experience

Fresh off his Presidents Cup debut, Joaquin Niemann of Chile brought fresh confidence and plenty of form to Maui by opening the year with a

7-under 66 for a one-shot lead over Justin Thomas after the opening round at the PGA’s Tournament of Champions.

Niemann is one of 15 first-time winners on the PGA Tour last year who are playing the rejuvenated Plantation Course at Kapalua for the first time. He knew his way around just fine in weather that might be as good as it gets all week.

He missed only one green and saved par. After a 30-foot birdie on No 4, which he called his best shot of the day, his other six birdies were all from 10 feet or closer.

Thomas, who won at Kapalua three years ago, played bogey-free and made five birdies over his last eight holes for a 67.

He heard about the conditions in the forecast for the rest of the week, which include gusts in the 50km/h range, and wasn’t bothered by that or his lack of birdies until the 11th hole onwards.

Matt Kuchar and Rickie Fowler were at 68, with defending champion Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay among those another shot back. Only nine players in the

34-man field of PGA Tour winners failed to shoot par or better.

Niemann didn’t win a match at Royal Melbourne — he went 0-3-1, twice facing two of the best US partnerships — but thrived on the stage under International captain Ernie Els.

“The Presidents Cup was one of my best experiences since I turned pro,” he said. “I shared a lot of moments with the best players in the world. I got Ernie as a captain. That is just awesome. I think that week was really special for me. He told me it’s going to be really helpful for my career, for my future.”

It appeared to help in the first round of the new year, and Niemann had plenty of company.

Thomas also thrived at Royal Melbourne, going 3-1-1. Then again, he’s been playing well the past six months with only one finish outside the top 12 and none out of the top 20.

Key to his round was keeping bogeys off his card as much as the flurry of birdies at the end.

“It’s kind of a mini-goal I have every round,” he said of playing bogey-free. “I make enough birdies that if I minimise the mistakes, it’s not that hard to have a chance to win the tournament.”

Warm sunshine and moderate wind for these parts also helped. The wind was reasonable enough for the tour to use all the new back tees that were part of the refinement project.