Betting: Is the smart money on Rory McIlroy to impress at The Players?

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LOS ANGELES – Lanny Wadkins has sat on the Riviera Country Club throne for 37 years but Joaquin Niemann is coming for him at The Genesis Invitational. A day after smashing the 36-hole scoring record at The Genesis Invitational, the 23-year-old Niemann took down the 54-hole mark and the Chilean star now stands on the precipice of securing the longest standing active 72-hole tournament scoring record on the PGA TOUR. Wadkins put up a 20-under 264 at Riviera when claiming the 1985 tournament and it has stood firm since. But Niemann is hunting after his 63-63-68 start left him at 19-under 194 with a round to play. One should never count chickens before they hatch but the elevated, Tiger Woods hosted Genesis Invitational appears Niemann’s to lose as he sits three clear of rookie Cameron Young (16-under) and six shots ahead of third placed Viktor Hovland (13-under). Only Justin Thomas (12-under) and Collin Morikawa (11-under) are also within eight shots of his lead. Eight shots is the largest comeback for the tournament, by Ken Venturi in 1959. Niemann’s 54-hole mark topped the previous 196 from Mike Weir (2004), Dustin Johnson (2017) and Justin Thomas (2019). His 36-hole score of 126 bested the previous halfway record of 130. If he closes on Sunday at the storied Riviera, he will join the greats. “I’m having the best time of my life right now. I just try to keep it calm, but yeah, I’m enjoying it a lot and I just can’t wait to have a good day tomorrow,” Niemann said. “My speed (on the greens) has just been so good this week and that’s the thing that helps a lot… they’re so fast and every putt can run away from the hole pretty quick, so the speed has been good.” Should he go on and win, Niemann will also be the first wire-to-wire winner since Charlie Sifford in 1969. If the Wadkins record falls, the longest standing mark will belong to Payne Stewart’s 264 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational 34 years ago. After bursting onto the scene claiming his first PGA TOUR win at the Military Tribute at The Greenbrier and joining the International Presidents Cup team as a 20-year-old in 2019, Niemann has since found himself in the shadow of other young players. Despite starting 2021 with back-to-back runner-up finishes in Hawaii, it was a missed chance last summer at the Rocket Mortgage Challenge that really stung. Niemann shared the 54-hole lead with Troy Merritt but both were bested by Australian Cam Davis in a playoff on Sunday. Niemann went 72-holes without a bogey, only to make one in the first hole of sudden death to miss out. He believes he’s learned from the experience and intends to enjoy the moments come Sunday at Riviera. “Rocket Mortgage, I played great golf there. Obviously, I didn’t make any bogeys that week. Sometimes things go your way, sometimes things don’t go your way,” Niemann said. “I think I put myself in with a big chance to win the tournament and it just didn’t happen. I’ve just got to learn from that and go with a better attitude the next time you’re there.” But what of the chasers? Young’s scoring has been prolific also this week yet somewhat overlooked due to the leader. On Saturday the rookie pulled within two shots of the lead before a costly double bogey on the par-3 16th. The two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner seeks to become the first rookie to win on TOUR since Garrick Higgo claimed the 2021 Palmetto Championship at Congaree last season. A former Wake Forest standout with Will Zalatoris, Young leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (+8.008) and Driving Distance (313.8) through three rounds and looks to go one better than his T2 earlier this season at the Sanderson Farms Championship – his lone top-10 in 11 previous starts on TOUR. He’s not ready to hand anything to Niemann just yet. “Anytime you start Sunday three back, whether you’re in tenth or second, you have a chance. Anybody out here can shoot 8 or 9 under and you just never know when it’s going to be you on a Sunday,” Young said. “I’m still right there, I’ve only got one guy ahead of me. He’s a great player and I know he’s playing really well, but you just never know what can happen. Tomorrow that three shots can be gone in a hole and three shots can go the other way in a hole, so we’ll just have to see.”

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Tiger Woods gets his PGA TOUR season underway at his customary starting spot, seeking more Torrey Pines glory against a strong lineup boasting FedExCup champion Justin Rose, current points leader Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm and defending champion Jason Day. Rory McIlroy is set to give Torrey Pines a test for the first time in his career, adding to his travelogue of West Coast Swing stops previously bypassed. Jordan Spieth also returns after a three-year hiatus as he seeks a jump-start to his season. FIELD NOTES: Masters champion Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler also help create an appetizing menu of spectator options for those not following Woods. … In all, the lineup figures to deliver 19 of the top 30 in the current FedExCup standings. … Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Viktor Hovland tees it up against PGA TOUR competition for the second time since winning at Pebble Beach. The Oklahoma State junior missed the cut at last fall’s Mayakoba Golf Classic. … Former top-ranked amateur Braden Thornberry makes his pro debut at Torrey Pines on a sponsor invite. The 2017 NCAA champion, who left Mississippi at midyear, tied for fourth at the FedEx St. Jude Classic weeks after his NCAA triumph. … Another exemption went to Doug Ghim, former U.S. Amateur runner-up and winner of college golf’s Ben Hogan Award. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Woods makes his long-awaited 2019 debut, his first official start since a stirring Sunday at last fall’s TOUR Championship ended a winless run of 1,876 days. He’s won this event seven times along with the 2008 U.S. Open, but was last seen finishing next-to-last at the Hero World Challenge. … Schauffele, a La Jolla native, already has two wins this season but might be content with simply making the weekend at Torrey Pines. He’s missed the cut in all three Farmers starts. … Spieth hopes to find a spark in his first visit to Torrey Pines since 2015. His first three starts of the season have yet to produce a top-50 finish, with two missed cuts. … Day seeks to become the event’s fourth back-to-back champion, joining J.C. Snead (1975-76), Mickelson (2000-01) and Woods (four straight from 2005-08). … Last year’s result made it eight consecutive Farmers champions to open their week on the South course. Ben Crane (2010) was the last winner to start play on the North. COURSE: Torrey Pines GC (South), 7,698 yards, par 72. Now beginning its sixth decade as a PGA TOUR venue, the former World War II army base has evolved into a major championship layout amid one of the TOUR’s more scenic settings. William Bell’s 1957 design skillfully transformed the cliffs fronting the Pacific Ocean into a stimulating layout, attracting the TOUR’s annual San Diego stop in 1968. Torrey Pines also hosts the Junior Worlds each July. A Rees Jones upgrade in 2001 helped attract the 2008 U.S. Open, captured by Woods in an epic playoff over Rocco Mediate, and the South course is set to serve again as 2021 host. Torrey Pines’ North course (7,258/72), in its third year of a Tom Weiskopf redesign, again will be utilized for the first two rounds. 72-HOLE RECORD: 266, George Burns (1987), Tiger Woods (1999). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Mark Brooks (2nd round, 1990) and Brandt Snedeker (1st round, 2007) at Torrey Pines North, predating the Weiskopf redesign. South course record: 62, Tiger Woods (3rd round, 1999). Redesigned North record: 64, Jason Day (2nd round, 2018). LAST YEAR: Day made short work of a Monday finish, needing 13 minutes to dispatch Alex Noren with a birdie on the sixth extra hole after their playoff was halted by darkness the previous evening. The playoff began with three men, but Ryan Palmer was eliminated on the first extra hole before Day and Noren matched two more birdies and two pars until twilight took over. Day found the rough upon resumption at the par-5 18th, laying up back to the fairway and watching his 85-yard wedge trickle back to 18 inches of the flagstick. Noren’s second shot, meantime, wound up in Devlin’s Billabong that fronts the 18th green. Day’s 11th PGA TOUR victory ended a 20-month winless drought dating back to THE PLAYERS Championship in 2016. Woods tied for 23rd in his first TOUR start back after a fourth back surgery. HOW TO FOLLOW (ALL TIMES ET) TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 11:45 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. Saturday, 1-6 p.m. Sunday, 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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