Joaquin Niemann has the lead going into the final round of the 2022 The Genesis Invitational, the PGA Tour's best field of the year so far at Riviera Country Club. At a tournament-record 19-under total through 54 holes, Niemann could secure his second PGA Tour win against a strong field.
Niemann is 23 years old, and he has status on the PGA Tour this season after continuing to finish well in the FedEx Cup. He's exempt through his first PGA Tour win, which was in the final edition back in 2019 of the PGA Tour's event at The Greenbrier in West Virginia.
However, for Niemann, his journey to the PGA Tour and being on the precipice of a stature-changing PGA Tour win is a remarkable story.
Niemann is hitting his prime
Joaquin Niemann has won at every level, including as an amateur and after he turned pro in 2018. In three of his first five PGA Tour starts after the 2018 Masters, Niemann finished in the top six, essentially setting himself up to become a full-time PGA Tour member at season end.
In the first event of his second full season as a pro, Niemann, who is Chilean, won at Greenbrier and finished 27th in the final FedEx Cup standings.
Entering this week, Niemann was 53rd in FedEx Cup points and ranked 32nd in the Official World Golf Ranking. He earned his way into this event through his status achieved by winning on the PGA Tour.
In his personal life, Niemann makes his way in the world with his girlfriend, Christina Hellema Puga.
What a win in Los Angeles means
With a win today, Niemann would earn the benefits of being a PGA Tour winner, including berths into the The Players in March, the Masters next April, the 2022 PGA Championship and British Open Championship in July. He would gain fully exempt status for the remainder of this season and the next three after that. And, according to the 2022 The Genesis Invitational payout, he would win $2.16 million to top it all off.
