Joaquin Niemann shot a 3-under-par 68 in a wild ride Saturday to widen his lead to three strokes after three rounds of the Genesis Invitational at Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Niemann, of Chile, started the day hot, befitting his play through the first two rounds, when he shot a pair of 63s. He is at 19-under 194 for the tournament, which is being contested at Riviera Country Club.
On Saturday, he went 5 under through the first 10 holes, capped by his eagle on the par-4 No. 10. That span also included four birdies and a bogey. But his final eight holes included two bogeys and six pars.
Niemann, whose only PGA Tour win came in 2019, has led the tournament through all three rounds, acknowledged it’s not something that happens on a regular basis.
“Yeah, obviously it feels different,” Niemann said. “You don’t lead tournaments too often out here, there’s too many good players, but yeah, I think when it’s your week you’ve got to try to do your best and try to stay there, stay in the present and do your best.”
Alone in second place at 16-under 197 is PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young, who shot a 2-under 69 on the heels of his 9-under 62 on Friday. Young, who is looking for his first Tour win, missed a chance to climb closer to the lead when he double-bogeyed the par-3 16th. His day included four birdies, including one at No. 17, and all the rest were pars.
He talked about the highs and lows after the round.
“Today I didn’t get the most out of it, but I didn’t get the least either. Obviously I didn’t play as well as I did yesterday, I didn’t play as well as I did on Thursday, but to get out of there a couple under par is never a bad day. So happy I was able to kind of get it down there at the end.”
Viktor Hovland of Norway fired a 6-under 65 to move into third place at 13-under 200. After birdies on seven of his first 11 holes on Saturday, he bogeyed 14 and 15, before adding a birdie at 17.
Hovland, a three-time winner on the Tour, most recently in November, called it a matter of playing his best golf and not worrying about the competition.
“Yeah, it’s a little frustrating because 7 under through 11 holes and I had hardly gained any momentum, or I was peeking a little closer but I was still pretty far behind,” he said. “If they just keep playing the way they do, there’s not much I can do. Should have played better the first day. All I can do is just keep playing like I am and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Justin Thomas, who began the day in third place, shot a 1-under 70 to end the day at 12 under. His day included back-to-back bogeys at 12 and 13, and ended with consecutive birdies on 17 and 18.
–Field Level Media
