Joaquin Niemann finishes the Greenbrier Classic with a 64

July 9, 2017 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Joaquin Niemann of Chile is heading to USF next year <br>(Golfweek Photo)

Ole Miss junior Braden Thornberry and 2016 West Virginia Amateur winner Alan Cooke both missed the cut

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV (July 9, 2017) - How do you complete your first weekend on the PGA Tour? Well if you are USF commit Joaquin Niemann it is with a bogey-free 6-under 64 at The Greenbrier Classic. Niemann was in the third group off on Sunday playing alongside Matt Jones and in a tie for 67th but his fine play rocketed him up the leaderboard at The Old White TPC. When all was said and done Niemann finished his week 5-under in a tie for 29th, a jump of 38 spots. The first birdie of his final round came on the 5th hole and he added additional circles on Nos. 9, 12 and 17. For Niemann the highlight of his day came when he holed out for eagle from 128 yards on the 385 yard par-4 10th. ROUND THREE RECAP Joaquin Niemann learned first hand what happens to your position on a PGA Tour leaderboard when you post an over-par round. And it happened in the span of three holes, when the Chilean star went double-bogey-double on Nos. 3-5. For most of us, a run like that could have spelled disaster but Niemann (a recent qualifier for the U.S. Open and Mexican Amateur champion) pulled it together to go even par the rest of the way, posting 75. After working himself into T22 with consecutive 68s at The Greenbrier, Niemann finished the day T67. But hey, Niemann can do better on Sunday, and he's the only one of three amateurs (Alan Cooke and Braden Thornberry missed the cut) still around to post a 72-hole total. He hasn't even started college yet, and we have a feeling we'll be hearing from Niemann for a long time. ROUND TWO RECAP After a second consecutive 2-under 68 USF commit Joaquin Niemann is 4-under and headed for the weekend in a PGA Tour event for the first time in his career. The native of Chile, Niemann got off to a quick start on Friday at The Greenbrier Classic as he birdied his opening hole, the first of his three on the front nine against one bogey. 4-under for the tournament after the turn, Niemann reached 5-under with a birdie on the par-5 12th only to give the shot back and more with a 16th hole double-bogey. He then bounced back on the ensuing hole with his fifth and final birdie of the day. Niemann, the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, will begin his third round at 11:40 a.m. EST alongside Scott Stallings. Two other amateurs were in the field this week at The Old White TPC Course and both missed the cut. NCAA Individual winner and Ole Miss junior Braden Thornberry shot a pair of 4-over 74's to post an 8-over tally while former West Virginia golfer Alan Cooke finished 13-over. The 2016 West Virginia Amateur winner, Cooke, was five-strokes better on day two, firing a 4-over 74 that included four birdies. Overall Cooke birdied seven-times during his two rounds. ROUND ONE RECAP Joaquin Niemann of Chile made a splash on day one of The Greenbrier Classic and at 2-under he is tied for 25th place and in line to make his first career cut. Playing at The Old White TPC Course, Niemann who played in last months U.S. Open, started on the second nine and he turned in an even-par 35 first side as he bogeyed the 15th and then recorded a birdie on the 17th. Following a par on the 18th hole Niemann, the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, really found his grove early on the back nine carding birdies on Nos. 1 and 3 before parring his way to the house. Two other amateurs are in the field this week including NCAA Individual winner Braden Thornberry. Just weeks after finishing fourth at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in his first career PGA Tour appearance Thornberry struggled on Thursday despite a strong start. Thornberry, the No. 1 player in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings, started on No. 10 and he birdied the 12th hole to reach 1-under but from then on it was a struggle as he bogeyed five-times, including four-times on the front, his second nine, to post a 4-over 74 that leaves him in a tie for 141st. The final amateur in the field is 2016 West Virginia Amateur champion Alan Cooke. After the tournament was cancelled last year due to flooding an invitation was extended to Cooke for the 2017 event. A former West Virginia golfer, Cooke birdied three-times during his Thursday 9-over 79.

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