PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Three days of sunshine and clear, blue skies gave way to some cloud cover and chillier temps on Sunday on a golf course that pretty much every PGA Tour pro calls one of the best.
Riviera Country Club, nearing its 100th birthday, shined once again, proving its mettle as a premier Tour stop.
The world’s top-10 golfers headlined a stacked field and except for Dustin Johnson, they all advanced to the weekend. The leaderboard was dominated at the very top by a 23-year-old Chilean, a 24-year-old rookie and a two-time major champion.
After a final-round 71 by Joaquinn Niemann, we did get a wire-to-wire winner at the 2022 Genesis Invitational but a long-standing Tour mark stays intact.
Joaquin Niemann putts on the 18th green during the third round of the 2022 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
Wire-to-wire wins don’t happen all that often but Joaquin Niemann made his second PGA Tour victory memorable for that very reason. At just 23 years of age, Niemann is the third youngest to win like that on the PGA Tour since 1970. Niemann is also the last to do it at The Riv since Charlie Sifford.
Youngest wire-to-wire (no ties) winners on @PGATOUR since 1970 (age in years-months-days):
Jordan Spieth, 2015 Masters (21-8-16)
Rory McIlroy, 2011 U.S. Open (22-1-15)
Joaquin Niemann, 2022 Genesis Invitational (23-3-13)— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) February 20, 2022
Charlie Sifford won the then-L.A. Open at Riviera in 1969 wire-to-wire. This week, you may have noticed the ‘100’ designation on the first tee box. Memorialized by the event since 2009 with the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption, that number on the No. 1 hole denotes that Sifford would have turned 100 in 2022.
A ‘100’ designation on the first tee box for the Genesis Invitational. Charlie Sifford would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2022. (Photo: Golfweek)
Lanny Wadkins holds the Seagram Sports Award for Men’s Golfer of the Year in New York on Dec. 9, 1985. Wadkins won three tournaments, including the L.A. Open, that year for a total of $446,893 in prize money. (Photo: Dave Pickoff/Associated Press)
In 1985, Lanny Wadkins won three times on Tour, including the L.A. Open at 20 under. His 264 total remains the longest-standing 72-hole record of any active PGA Tour event since 1980. Niemann made a run at it. After opening with a pair of 63s, it seemed like a good bet. Niemann chipped in for eagle on the 11th hole Sunday to get to 21 under but bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15 meant Wadkins mark will live on, at least for now.
The clubhouse at Riviera Country Club during the 2021 Genesis Invitational in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo: Ryan Kang/Associated Press)
The 2022 third-round scoring average was 69.28, the lowest scoring average in a round at the Genesis Invitational since 1984. Quite the reversal from the third round one year ago, however. Thanks to high winds which led to a four-hour delay, the third-round scoring average in 2021 at the Genesis was 73.343, the highest at Riviera for a weekend round since 1983.
Adam Scott putts on the twelfth green during the third round of the 2022 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
In 2020, when Adam Scott won at Riviera for his 14th PGA Tour title, he closed with a 1-under 70, giving him an 11-under total that was good enough for a two-shot win. Just two years later, however, Scott—who wore the same brown sweater four days in a row at The Riv—finished 14 under and yet that was only good enough for a tie for fourth, five shots back of Niemann. Eight golfers in all shot better than 11 under in 2022.
Jon Rahm plays his shot on the ninth fairway during the second round of the 2022 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
World No. 1 Jon Rahm is among the betting favorites every week on the PGA Tour, and the Genesis Invitational was no different. Rahm was the pre-tournament favorite at +900 but needed to bury a bending six-footer on the 18th hole on Friday for par just to make the cut on the number. Scores of 70-65 over the weekend saw him climb the leaderboard but that was only good enough to get him into a tie for 21st place.
The Genesis Invitational trophy at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo: Ryan Kang/Associated Press)
A new year means a bump in prize money. The three player-affiliated PGA Tour stops—the Genesis Invitational (hosted by Tiger Woods), the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial Tournament—are now paying $12 million versus the previous $10.5 million in total prize money. The winner of the Genesis in 2022, Niemann, banked a cool $2,160,000, up from the $1,674,000 Max Homa won a year ago.
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