Joaquin Niemann of Chile is playing the Plantation Course for the first time this week and he obviously likes the changes made recently by architects Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore.
The 21-year-old Niemann, who earned his spot in the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions with a victory in A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier, shot a flawless 7-under-par 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Justin Thomas after one round at Kapalua Resort https://golfatkapalua.com on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
“I played pretty good today and hit a lot of good shots,” said Niemann, who was one of Ernie Els’ Captain’s Picks for International Team in the Presidents Cup last month in Australia. “In the practice rounds, there was a lot of wind, but it wasn’t windy today. I missed only one green, No. 16, and made a lot of putts.
“The Presidents Cup was very big for my career, to be with the best players in the world. I played against Tiger Woods and Adam Scott was my teammate. Ernie told me it was going to a big week and it was very special for me. I can’t wait for the next time.”
Niemann birdied four of the last six holes on the front nine and then made three more birdies coming home, the last one with a nine-foot putt on the 18th hole.
The fourth-ranked Thomas, who won at Kapalua in 2017, birdied five of the last eight holes to shoot 67, while Rickie Fowler of Murrieta made a birdie on the last hole to cap a 68 and is tied for third with Matt Kuchar, who sank a 27-foot eagle putt on the fifth hole.
“I played well and was just really steady on the first nine or 10 holes,” said Thomas, who finished his round with a four-foot birdie putt on the last hole. “I kept it all in front of me and it was pretty easy.
“On the back nine you can make a lot of birdies and I did. I played really solid on the back nine and probably could have birdied nine of the last 10 holes.”
Ninth-ranked Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State, the defending champion, posted a bogey-free 69 and is tied for fifth with third-ranked Jon Rahm of
Spain, seventh-ranked Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos and UCLA, Matthew Wolff of Agoura Hills and Tyler Duncan, who birdied the last four holes.
J.T. Poston is alone in 10th after a 70 following birdies on the last two holes.
Fifth-ranked Dustin Johnson, who won at Kapalua in 2013 and 2018, hit into the high grass bordering the course four times, but made a five-foot eagle putt on the fifth hole to help salvage a 72 and is in a tie for 16th that includes 2016 TOC winner Patrick Reed, while U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland is tied for 22nd at 73.
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