Game Changing Moments: Joaquin Niemann’s record setting win

The best field in the nearly 100-year history of The Genesis Invitational descended on Riviera in February 2022. From an opening round for the record books to the closing putt capping off a lifelong dream, Joaquin Niemann wrote his chapter in the tournament’s storied history. The 2022 Genesis Invitational was a week Niemann will never forget.

An opening round 63 on Thursday was backed up when Niemann fired a second round 63 to set the tournament scoring record through 36 holes.

“It was a great start after yesterday’s round,” Niemann said following his second round at Riviera. “Didn’t sleep much, it was pretty late when I finished [round one] and we started [round two] pretty early, but yeah, we got it going pretty good at the beginning.”

Sleeping on the lead would be something Niemann would have to get used to during his historic performance. With numerous top ranked players making runs over the weekend, Niemann would find the shots to keep himself in the lead.

“Thats a huge boost of confidence for my game, for who I am, and what kind of player I can be,” Niemann said after the victory. “So, it’s going to be huge for my career, hopefully getting used to this will be nice.”

While Niemann produced highlight after highlight on the course, the highlight he’ll take away from the week was having Tiger Woods present him with The Genesis Invitational trophy.

“It was something unbelievable,” Niemann said of receiving The Genesis Invitational trophy from Tiger Woods. “Tiger is my idol and he’s the idol of probably everybody who is playing the game right now. I think the main thing is obviously having Tiger, taking a picture with Tiger and the trophy, I think those are the two best combinations you can ask for.”