To borrow a phrase from Roger Daltry and The Who, the kids are going to be all right.
Joaquin Niemann, 21, and Matt Wolff, 20, a pair of whippersnappers, may be the two youngest players in the field at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, but you wouldn’t know it by their impressive starts in their debuts at Kapalua’s Plantation Course.
Niemann signed for a 7-under-par 66 to claim a one-stroke lead over Justin Thomas after the first round in Maui and Wolff, the youngest player in the field is nipping at his heels after shooting 69. It continued a run of good form by Niemann, who despite an 0-3-1 record at the Presidents Cup in December, said it gave him a jolt of confidence.
“I think the Presidents Cup was huge for me, for my career, for my future. During that week, I learned a lot. I was with the best players in the world and played against Tiger, I was teamed with Adam Scott and talked a lot with them. It was an unbelievable week,” Niemann told Golf Channel after the round. “Ernie told me it was really important for me and it was going to give me a lot of experience and confidence for my future.”
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Niemann missed only one green in regulation — at 16 — and recorded his 14th career bogey-free round on the PGA Tour. The new year started with a bang, a 31-foot birdie putt at the third hole for his first birdie as Niemann picked apart the newly-renovated Plantation Course on a day when the tradewinds laid down. He made birdie on all four par 5s to continue what has been an impressive season for Niemann, who won the opening event of the 2019-20 Tour season by winning A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier, and booking his ticket to Maui.
Niemann’s early success on Tour had a profound effect on another youngster in the field, Collin Morikawa, who turned pro in June and booked his ticket to Maui with a victory in Reno at the Barracuda Championship.
“For me, the person before us that got his card was probably Joaquin. You seem him do it in the start — you see young guys win on the PGA Tour — it gives you some sense of belief,” Morikawa said. “I’m sure what Matt, Viktor and I did this summer are going to change a lot of guys in college and how they view how they’re going to go through college, how they’re going to come out, what starts they’re going to get, can they make something out of it.”
Wolff, who defeated Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau in a playoff at the 3M Open, got off to a sluggish start, missing a short birdie putt at the fifth and taking three putts from 53 feet at six before his putter warmed up. He birdied his final two holes to join a logjam at 4 under and tied for fifth.
“As I kept on going I got more comfortable with my swing and the course and knew which way the wind was blowing and I felt like I hit some really good shots,” Wolff said.
Thomas, a past champion of this event in 2017, torched the back nine with five birdies en route to a 6-under 67.
