Niemann breaks 36-hole mark at Riviera, leads by 2

Joaquin Niemann was playing so well and having so much fun in the opening round at Riviera that he didn’t want to stop playing. He returned Friday morning and nothing changed except his place in the record book.

His opening-round 63 still fresh in his mind, Niemann started eagle-birdie and kept right on going until he had another 63 to shatter the 36-hole record in the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles.

“We got it going pretty good at the beginning,” Niemann said. “I really like the way I handled myself out there.”

All it got him was a two-shot lead going into the weekend, with a quartet of major champions still in the mix and needing Niemann to ease off the gas.

Niemann was at 16-under-par 126, which broke the record set about 20 minutes earlier by Cameron Young, a 24-year-old PGA Tour rookie who birdied his last four holes for a 62. Young was at 128, at least giving Niemann some company atop the leaderboard.

The previous mark before Friday was 130 by four players, most recently Sam Burns last year.

“I would have thought shooting 11-under, I would have thought that I would probably be leading by five, not five back,” said former PGA champion Justin Thomas, who had a 64 and was five shots behind. “But there’s still a lot of golf left.”

Two-time Riviera winner Adam Scott was at 9-under 133, seven shots behind, as was Jordan Spieth, who three-putted the final hole for his only bogey in a round of 67. British Open champion and Cal alum Collin Morikawa had a 67 and was eight behind..

“I think it’s still very doable. I’ve just got to go out there and play hole by hole, shot by shot and see what happens for the third and fourth round,” Morikawa said.

The 72-hole record was set in 1985 by Lanny Wadkins at 20under 264, and it’s the oldest such record on the PGA Tour.