Joaquin Niemann cemented his lead atop the Genesis Invitational as several star players led by former world no. 1 Dustin Johnson missed the cut in a low scoring second round.
Niemann shot a consecutive 63 round to go two shots clear of rookie Cameron Young who moved into second after the day’s best round of -9 headlined by four birdies in the last four holes. Viktor Hovland had a strong recovery after a round of 64 moved the world no.3 player back into contention in T7 nine shots back.
In his quest for a second victory on the PGA Tour, Niemann will be wary of the chasing pack of Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa in third, fourth and sixth respectively.
World no.1 John Rahm faded out of contention after carding +2 for even par to drop to T60. He is joined by world no.2 Patrick Cantlay and no.10 Hideki Matsuyama at the lower reaches of the leaderboard after the elite trio escaped disaster by finishing on the level par cutline to limp into the weekend rounds.
A late rally by Johnson could not save him from the axe after the former world no.1 shot an even par second round to miss the cut. Also taking an early flight home are Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Harold Varner.
The Genesis Invitational had one of the strongest fields featuring all 10 from the top 10 in the world and 19 of the top 25. First played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open, The Genesis Invitational is one of only five tournaments given “invitational” status by the PGA Tour, and consequently it has a reduced field of only 120 players (as opposed to most full-field open tournaments with a field of 156 players). The other four are the Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, Charles Schwab Challenge and the Memorial Tournament.
Follow all the action from The Riviera Country Club live on DStv as the world’s best players battle for the $12million prize purse. Visit www.dstv.com to subscribe or upgrade, and join in on the excitement. And while you’re on the move, you can stream matches on the DStv App.
The Genesis Invitational broadcast details
All times CAT
Saturday 19 February
20:00: Day 3 – LIVE on SuperSport Golf
Sunday 20 February
20:00: Day 4 – LIVE on SuperSport Golf
