Matsuyama’s 62, “The beauty of the game,” said Zalatoris

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif — The round was magnificent, the sort that gets one into the record books as well as the winner’s circle. 

Hideki Matsuyama came from six shots behind Sunday to capture the Genesis Invitational, with a 9-under par 62 at famed Riviera Country Club, and of all the observations arguably the best was provided by the man three shots back in second.

“This is the beauty of this game, you know,” said Will Zalatoris. “Kind of nice when you get beat by somebody who shoots 62 on Sunday. That’s usually going to win a tournament or make a lot of money. Hats off to Hideki, that is just stellar playing.”  

Stellar, dominating, overwhelming, record-setting and not the least triumphant. He finished with a 17 -under 267.  

Matsuyama finished at 17-under 267 and that 62 was the best closing round by a winner since Doug Tewell in 1986.It was one off the course record of 61 set by Ted Tryba in 1999. 

The 31-year-old Matsuyama now has more victories, nine, than any other golfer from Asia. One happens to be from a tournament where he earned not only plaudits and a paycheck but also a green jacket, the 2021 Masters.

As you know there’s no way to play defense in golf. You have no control over the other players and sometimes not even over yourself. On Sunday, the Genesis seemed to belong, in order, to Patrick Cantlay (who shot a one over 72 and tied for 4th), Luke List (who short 68 and tied for 2nd), then Will Zalatoris (who shot a 69 and tied for 2nd), Adam Hadwin (who shot a 65 and tied for 4th), Xander Schauffele (who shot 70 and tied for 4th), and finally Matsuyama.

“Yeah, you know, to win in this tournament was one of my goals ever since I became pro,” said Matsuyama through an interpreter. “After Tiger being the host, that goal became a lot bigger. A little disappointed that I wasn't able to take a picture with Tiger today.”

That’s because Woods, who is a co-host of the tournament, withdrew Friday because he had the flu.

“Reaching nine wins was one of my big goals, passing KJ Choi. After my eighth win, I've been struggling with my back injury. There were a lot of times where I felt, you know, I was never going to win again. I struggled reaching the top-10, but I'm really happy that I was able to win today.”

Which certainly Cantlay, who played Riviera maybe two dozen times when on the UCLA golf team. It would have been interesting to learn what happened to his game the final 36 holes, but there were no explanations. 

What we needed to know, apparently was on the card.

Tiger back to place he started—and never won

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — He’s back to the place where it all began, back to where Tiger Woods played a Tour tournament for the first time, back to golf with a newly fused ankle and an old hope, to get a victory at Riviera Country Club.

So many rounds of golf, so much success, at St. Andrews and Pebble Beach, at Royal Liverpool and Augusta National. But never at Riviera, tucked in a canyon off the Pacific, where on Thursday the Genesis Invitational returns.

And so does Woods.

“A nice W would be nice, right?” Woods said Wednesday, a redundant aside that was as much a statement as a question. “I haven’t ever won this event. I’ve played in it since ’92.” (when he was a 16-year-old amateur).

And it’s extremely doubtful that at age 48, not competing in anything since the ankle repair last April, other than the father-and-son competition in December, he could win this Genesis.

Still, if there’s something we’ve learned, from the time he was five down to Steve Scott in the final and won the 1996 U.S. Amateur to his triumph in the 2019 Masters, it’s never wise to underestimate

He’s golf. Period. Especially to people only peripherally interested in the activity.

Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and the others fill our screens, and with those amazingly large payoffs, fill their bank accounts, yet they’re merely role players.

This is a true story. Last summer after the British Open, we were in Paris, at the Louvre. A guide asked about my line of work.

“Sportswriter,” I conceded.

“Do you know Tiger Woods? “ she asked.

Everybody knows Tiger Woods, of course. The people who run golf as well as those who play it, also know there’s no one as transcendent.

He’s the franchise and seemingly always will be.

The elements came together, and with the departures from competition of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson, Tiger Woods burst onto the scene at the most critical of times. These days, as his career ebbs, Tiger is grateful for being able to walk and swing without pain.

“I'm just happy to see the man not limping as much,” Max Homa said. “It’s pretty amazing what he brings to an event with his presence on the golf course. ... You have less people watching you play golf, but there are more people watching golf.”

Woods, while not giving any hints he will retire — he hasn’t undergone the medical procedures just to sit around — has expanded his horizons.

Woods joined the Tour board and was involved in negotiations that led to Strategic Sports Group becoming a minority investor in a deal worth as much as $3 billion. 

“Ultimately we would like to have the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) be a part of our tour and a part of our product,” Woods said Wednesday at Riviera. “Financially, we don't right now.”

Ultimately, it would be great to see Tiger Woods win at Riviera. To end with a flourish at the place he started.

Jon Rahm, golf’s new conquistador

PACIFIC PALISADES — Do we simply add a Roman numeral to the late, great Seve Ballesteros? Call Jon Rahm the Spanish Armada II? The new Conquistador?

The Tour has ended its annual stay in the Golden West (yes, the U.S. Open will be here in June, but that’s a bit different) and Mr. Rahm claimed most of the gold along with a first place in the world rankings.

He earned $3.6 million alone with the victory Sunday in the Genesis Invitational at historic Riviera Country Club, to highlight a two-month stretch that also included wins at the Sentry in Maui (from seven shots back) and American Express in Palm Desert.

Toss in a third at the WM Phoenix Open, and Rahm has earned $9 million hitting a little white ball in two months.

In addition, Rahm won the Farmers Open in 2017 at Torrey Pines in San Diego and the U. S. Open at Torrey in 2021. 

West may be best for Jon, but it’s off to Florida and waypoints. Of course, both areas have beaches and palm trees.

Rahm’s winning total was a 17-under par 267 after a final-round 69. That also was ahead of the 269 by the local, Max Homa, who won the event two years back, and three up on another local, Patrick Cantlay.

Rahm graduated from Arizona State, Homa from Cal, and Cantlay for a while was at UCLA, making the Genesis seem much like a Pac-12 Conference competition.

Rahm was delighted with the way he responded to the back nine, making birdies at 12 and 16 just when the tournament appeared to be getting away.

“I’ve never had three PGA Tour wins in a season and to do it this early on is incredible, and to do it at this golf course,” Rahm said. “Talk about the history of Riviera as a golf course, the history of Tiger Woods as a player, those two combined in this tournament, it’s a pretty big deal. As a historian of the game, to be able to win a tournament hosted by Tiger and the one hosted by Jack [Nicklaus] as well, it’s pretty incredible.”

That word also applies to Rahm’s play quite an ability to adapt to different style courses. Kapalua, in Maui, is hilly and relatedly wide; the courses for the American Express are in the desert, while Riviera is a 100-year classic with narrow fairways and deep bunkers.

The locations will change. Rahm’s thoughts will not.

“Obviously I've been extremely disciplined my whole career, but right now I'm seeing the dividends of a lot of the hard work over the years,” said Rahm. “So just keep doing the small things and keep enjoying it, having fun. Obviously, when you're playing good it's really fun and when you're winning tournaments, extremely fun, but got to enjoy the tough moments as well. Try to take it all in and, like I said, keep doing the little things properly every day and hopefully I can keep putting myself in position to win.”

Sounds easy — when it works.

An eagle on “best short hole in golf” sparks Niemann

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — The platform is small and subtle, the opposite of what we too often misconceive as Southern California chic. But the 10th hole at Riviera — merely called by Rory McIlroy the best short hole in golf — can be as difficult as it is beckoning.

It plays to around 310 yards, which is nothing in these days of hulked-up golfers and high-powered golf clubs, designed back in the 1920s by George Thomas, an ageless gem that creates a question in the player’s mind: Do I lay up or take a chance?

The stories are legendary. Some guys have ruined their chances by taking a chance. A few years ago in a playoff, Phil Mickelson (this was before he became an object of scorn) went with his driver and went for a birdie.

On Saturday, Joaquin Niemann, well aware of his own position — first place — in the Genesis Invitational as well as the risk-reward quality of the 10th hole, played it smartly and safely just short of the green and made a 22-footer for an eagle two.

“I felt the crowd there,” said Niemann. “There was a lot of crowd. It was a big putt there. It was good because I was coming out of a few birdies, so it was great to make that eagle.”

Niemann, the 23-year-old from Chile, shot a 3-under-par 68, his worst score by far of the three rounds — he had back-to-back 63s, but with a 54-hole total of 19-under 194 still expanded his lead. Second-place Cameron Young had a 69 for 197, while Viktor Hodland, with the day’s low, a 65, is at 200. Justin Thomas (70) is at 201 and Collin Morikawa (68) 202.

The way he is scoring and enthusiastically reacting to the support of the gallery, fans still wound up by the Rams in the Super Bowl, Niemann would seem destined to be the wire-to-wire winner, But as we’ve learned so many times, golf can be an ornery game. You can’t protect a lead. And you can’t keep someone else from building one.

As Niemann, despite his youth, knows quite well. He has gone about the task at hand, with a smile or two but showing little other excitement, which brought about an inane question of whether he was enjoying himself.

“Yeah, I'm having the best time of my life right now,” he said. “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 (Sunday).”

There haven’t been a lot of good days in the media for Mickelson, since the story broke that he is working with the abusive (some would say treacherous) Saudi group to finance golf competition that would compete with the PGA Tour. Phil, who won at Riviera, isn’t entered in the Genesis this time, but his presence can’t be denied.

Niemann, naturally, was hit with a reference to Phil, a journalist wondering if Joaquin “had been involved in talks at all with the Saudi league.” His answer was direct if not specific

“Yeah. I mean, obviously a lot going on,” he said. “I don't know much about it and I don't want to say anything about it. I just wait.” 

Golf is a game of waiting — and then performing.

Niemann plays his way into Riviera history

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — The place is known as Hogan’s Alley. There’s even a statue of Ben alongside the practice green. Howard Hughes was a member. So was Humphrey Bogart.

Riviera Country Club had its moments and its stars. Now a kid from Chile has played his way into Riviera history.

There never may be a carving of Joaquin Niemann on the course called the “The Riva,” but his name is in the record book, which isn’t bad considering who played here and when.

People like Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead.

Joaquin Niemann, 23, is another of those prodigies from a land not enough Americans associate with golf, which in a way is both insular and unintelligent.

The game may not be as far-reaching as soccer, but it’s played in areas we sometimes ignore.

Niemann, who Friday in the second round of the Genesis Invitational shot another 8-under-par 63 and holds the halfway lead at 16-under 126, a record, is from Chile.

So is Mito Pereia, who is up there, as are Viktor Howland of Norway, Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, C.T. Pan of Taiwan and Sunga Kim of Korea. 

We used to ask, “Who are those guys?” We’ve learned. They’re world-class golfers.

Niemann in fact was the world’s No. 1-ranked amateur for many months. He was going to enroll at the University of South Florida— well, that’s closer to Chile than other U.S. schools — but there was a mix-up with his grades.

So he turned pro, which he would have done inevitably. Won a tournament early on too. Already earned millions.

Last summer, in the final round of the Tour Championship, he won another sort of event. In last place after 54 holes, he did one of those dumb but laughable things top golfers do when they have no chance. He went against the clock rather than the card, playing for time instead of score. 

Niemann looks like a guy who could enter a marathon. His caddy, Gary Mathews, looks like a middle linebacker. All the excess paraphernalia, practice material, rain gear, was extracted from the bag.

They made the 18 holes on hilly East Lake in 1 hour 53 minutes, an-all-time best. Paul Azinger, the announcer and a former PGA champion, didn’t like what Niemann did, saying he disrespected the game and cost himself a ton of money.

Niemann still earned a $405,000 bonus for finishing 29th in what had been a 30-man field (Brooks Koepka had withdrawn because of an injury) and had a good time. Spectators had something to keep them attentive before the leaders went off, Patrick Cantlay eventually winning the tournament.

"I didn't know how fast I could play 18 holes, but on the front nine, I decided to play quick, but not like crazy quick, not like rushing and hurrying up," Niemann said. "But then they told me I did like just over an hour, I was like, 'ah, I'm just going to rush it and try to break the record.' It was pretty good, the back nine."

At Riviera, the final two rounds this beautiful weekend of sunshine, Niemann will be concentrating on par, not pace. On Friday, he had seven birdies and an eagle.

“I think everything is working pretty well,” said Niemann, confirming what was on the card. “Obviously, I'm making a lot of putts right now. I feel I'm starting my ball online with the putter, so that's obviously — when you have greens this good when you start your line, I think you've got a good chance of making putts, so I think that's been big this week.”

Niemann birdied the first and second hole, to get to 10-under with 16 holes remaining.

“Yeah, obviously it was a great start after (Thursday’s) round. Didn't sleep much, it was pretty late when I finished and we started pretty early, but yeah, we got it going pretty good at the beginning.

“Yeah, I really like the way I handled myself out there after been playing good the front nine. Didn't hit a great driver on 11, still made birdie there. That different mentality this week, I think, is helping a lot.” 

Hot and Chile is a good forecast.

Phil wants to take over the Tour — but he’s not at Riviera

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — So Phil Mickelson, who’s not even here, wants to remake the PGA Tour and blocked his Twitter account.

Somebody from Golf Digest hopes the Waste Management Phoenix Open will not continue to play the last round during the Super bowl.

And there’s a story the Saudis are going to destroy pro golf as we know it with their millions.

But looking down the fairway from the elevated first tee at Riviera Country Club, there’s a better view of golf, one of old eucalyptus trees, kikuyu fairways and a tournament as competitive as it is historic.

Round one of the Genesis Invitational on Thursday offered a leaderboard that included the guy who won in Arizona on Sunday, Scottie Scheffler — yes, when you’re hot, you’re hot — Jordan Spieth and, on top, Joaquin Niemann. 

Obviously it did not include Phil, a.k.a. Lefty, who although residing maybe 80 miles south and having won here — remember the time he flew up daily in his jet? — chose not to enter.

But apparently he has chosen to push the limits of how pro golf is controlled. And also chosen not to allow critics to enter his social media platform.

Phil is always one of the friendlier, more cooperative guys in golf, full of opinions, willing to take a stand or a chance on making a tough shot.

Virtually everyone was thrilled when last summer, at almost age 51, he took the PGA Championship and became the oldest man ever to win a major.

Then a couple weeks ago, Mickelson skipped the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which he had won five times, to play in the filthy rich Saudi event — and while there lambasted the PGA Tour for “obnoxious greed.”

While explaining why he would be open to playing in the filthy rich Saudi Golf League.

That didn’t make him overly popular with those who run the Tour or play the Tour, or with Brandel Chamblee, the astute Golf Channel commentator who briefly played on the Tour. Chamblee referred to Mickelson as a highly paid ventriloquist puppet.

Phil recently claimed that Augusta National, the club where he won the Masters three times, made $3.5 million from licensing his 2010 shot off the pine needles to the 13th green.

It’s amazing how a game supposedly built on sportsmanship and fair play can make so many people so angry, including fans and media. Of course, it’s also built on money.

According to Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press, Mickelson told a journalist writing a biography on him that he recruited three other “top players” to the Saudi-supported golf league. And his intent is to remake the Tour more than to help Saudi golf.    

The comments are from an interview with former Sports Illustrated golf writer Alan Shipnuck, who has a book on Mickelson coming in May.

“They’re scary mother-bleepers to get associated with,” Mickelson said of the Saudis. “We know they killed (Washington Post reporter Jamal) Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights.

“Why should I get involved? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”    

The worry may be how Phil operates. Anger is being expressed against Mickelson in messages on the internet. He responded in kind. Off went Phil’s site.  

That’s the side of golf some prefer to ignore. Controversy sells, but so do birdie putts and success stories. They prefer beautiful locations such as Riviera, which along with Pebble is one of California’s most famous, as well as one of its best.

The pros hesitate to put too much into the opening round of any event — they tell us you can’t win a tournament on the first day, but you can lose it — but those were impressive starts on Thursday.

Niemann had an 8-under 63, while Scheffler, Spieth, Cameron Young and Max Homa shot 66.

But the question remains: With this Mickelson news, will anyone notice?

Tiger talks of a great past and doubtful future

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — He was sitting behind a table instead of standing on a tee, but wherever Tiger Woods finds a place any tournament belongs to him, especially the one where he first had the chance to play against the game’s top players — before he would become the game’s best.

It’s called the Genesis Invitational now. Before, it was the Nissan Open. But we know it as the Los Angeles Open, at historic Riviera Country Club, where the stars hung out, Ben Hogan dominated and in 1992 a teenage Tiger made his pro debut.

Woods now is the host, ironically for an event on a course where he never won but where his presence as both spokesman and hero perhaps carries as much significance as any of his 82 Tour victories.

A year ago, Woods drove off a curving road maybe 20 miles from Riviera. As he reminded Tuesday, “I’m lucky I’m alive.” He had his right foot reattached, underwent months of rehabilitation, eventually was able to play with son Charlie in the PNC Father-Son tournament and at age 46 remains uncertain about his future.

Among his tasks here were to create the attention impossible for anyone else in golf. The room in the old Spanish clubhouse used as the media headquarters suddenly filled to overflowing when Woods walked in on Wednesday, first to introduce pro Adam Beverly — a college star at Sacramento State — as recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial exemption.

Woods recalled the difficulty he faced when at age 16 he was in the big time, and no less pertinently mused about his chances in April of playing the Masters Par-3 tournament (possible) and the Masters itself (doubtful).

“I wish I could tell you when I'm playing again,” said Woods. “I want to know, but I don't. My golf activity has been very limited. I can chip and putt really well and hit short irons very well, but I haven't done any long stuff seriously.

“I'm still working. Like at the PNC, I'm still working on the walking part. My foot was a little messed up there about a year ago, so the walking part is something that I'm still working on, working on strength and development in that. It takes time. What's frustrating is it's not at my timetable.”

There has been progress since the father-son. He is stronger, able to hit more balls.

“But as I was alluding to at the PNC, I was in a cart,” he said. “I can play weekend warrior golf, that's easy. But to be able to be out here and play, call it six rounds of golf, a practice round, pro-am, four competitive days, it's the cumulative effect of all that.

“I'm not able to do that yet. I'm still working on getting to that point.”

He is more realistic than pessimistic. He came to grips with the situation lying in a hospital bed. There is just possibility or impossibility.

The opportunity to discuss the Sifford award, presented annually to one of the country’s top minority golfers, brings Tiger back to an earlier time.

The PGA of America (which controlled tournament golf before the PGA Tour was formed in 1968) had a Caucasian-only clause in its by-laws. Charlie Sifford and other African Americans were not allowed to play. A threat by California attorney general Stanley Mosk to ban any tournament from the state forced the PGA to eliminate the clause.

When Sifford won the L.A. Open in 1961, at Rancho Park, he sent Mosk a telegram of appreciation. Tiger Woods, with a Black father and Asian mother, was well-schooled in ethnic discrimination.

“Charlie was the grandfather I never had,” said Tiger. “To me, he was Grandpa Charlie. I would see him at Firestone every year. I was telling Aaron over here that I would get these yellow texts in my locker every time I had a chance to win a tournament and I'll summarize it by saying ‘go out and win.’”

What Tiger told Adam Beverly was that playing in a Tour event for the first time would be both intimidating and thrilling.

“It was like going from playing JV baseball to all of a sudden facing — you're going to be on the bump against Nolan Ryan. That's how big a jump that felt like.”

Big or small, the jump ended beautifully.