Ernie Els is probably wondering why the heck Joaquin Niemann couldn’t play like this during the Presidents Cup.
Niemann is only 21 years-old but he’s got a lot of attention after his first round 66 to open the 2020 PGA Tour season at the Tournament of Champions.
The revamped Plantation course at Kapalua puzzled most of the field but not Niemann. The kid hit 17 of 18 greens on his way to a seven-under par 66 on the par 73 layout.
Els could have used that type of play out of Niemann at the recent Presidents Cup matches where the rookie failed to win a single match, going 0-3-1.
Opening day for the PGA Tour in 2020 was a basic “Round Up The Usual Suspects” kinda day at Kapalua. Justin Thomas, who admitted earlier this week he’s disappointed he hasn’t won more than one major championship, is just a shot behind the kid from Chile. J.T. had a solid day on his way to an opening 67.
Rickie Fowler was two back along with Matt Kuchar (aka Kooch The Caddie Mooch).
Things were a bit crowded at four-under par. Defending champion Xander Schauffele was in that group along with the field’s highest-ranked player — world No. 3 Jon Rahm.
It was a typical season-opener. Some players were ready, some were not.
Dustin Johnson admitted that he feels like an underachiever when he spoke earlier this week. D.J. believes he should have twice the number of wins under his belt. D.J. has 20 victories on the tour, which gives him lifetime status but he admitted he’s let too many get away, including major championships where he’s nibbled at multiple titles but has just one U.S. Open (2016). D.J. has a new driver in his bag and it didn’t treat him well on Thursday. He found the vicious waist-high grasses on the Plantation course at least four times off the tee but he still managed to break par with a one-under 72 that left him tied for 16th in the 34-man field.
Only six players were over par for the day, the worst of them was the slow-playing J.B. Holmes, who put up an opening 78.
The field could be in for a big shock on Friday. Winds are coming — big winds — in the 20-30 mile-per-hour range.
That should be very entertaining.
