Joaquin Niemann sets new 36-hole scoring record at Genesis Invitational
Joaquin Niemann leads Cameron Young by two shots heading into the weekend at Tiger Woods' Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour.
Chile's Joaquin Niemann has set a new 36-hole scoring record at Tiger Woods' Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour following a second consecutive round of 8-under 63 on day two at Riviera.
Niemann's 126 total after 26 holes beats the previous scoring record of 130 set by Sam Burns (2021), Shigeki Maruyama (2004), Mike Weir (2004) and Davis Love III (1992).
But despite his brilliance on day two, Niemann only leads by two shots on 16-under par as America's Cameron Young went one better with an incredible round of 9-under 62 to vault up to 14-under par.
Justin Thomas surged in the trickier afternoon wave with a gutsy round of 64 to pull his way up to 11-under par, two shots ahead of Jordan Spieth (67) and Adam Scott (65) on 9-under par.
Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa is a further shot adrift on 8-under par following a second consecutive 67.
Sporting snazzy lightning pants, Viktor Hovland enjoyed an improved second round with a solid 64 as the Norweigian progressed to 7-under par alongside Scotland's Russell Knox (67) and Cameron Smith (68)
Further down the board, Rory McIlroy struggled to find any real momentum on Friday and stumbled to a round of 70 to lie well off the pace on 3-under par.
World No.1 Jon Rahm and in-form Patrick Cantlay both made the cut on level-par but at 16 shots off the pace will more than likely just be making up the numbers on the weekend.
Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson had a week to forget after missing the cut, as too did Thomas Pieters who likely has a sore foot after kicking his golf bag in frustration.
