Hoge Finishes 2nd to Neimann at Greenbrier

WHITE SULFER SPRINGS, W. Va. -- Joaquin Niemann birdied three of the first four holes on the back nine at The Old White Course on Sunday and also birdied the last three holes as he broke away from a pack of contenders on the way to a six-stroke victory in A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. It was the first for the 20-year-old from Chile and it was worth $1,350,000.

He closed the show with a 6-under-par 64 and a tournament record 72-hole total of 259 (21 under). 

This was the first event of the 2019-20 PGA Tour. In addition to the check that he received, Niemann also earned entry into next years Tournament of Champions, the Players' Championship and the Masters, plus exempt status on the tour through the end of the 2021-22 season. 

Tom Hoge, the 30-year-old former two-time Minnesota State Amateur champion (2009, '10) from Fargo, birdied five of the first eight holes on Sunday was was tied for the lead a couple of times. He dropped out of the lead when he bogeyed the 13th hole and dropped out of a tie for second place when he bogeyed the 15th, as well, but he bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 17th. Ultimately, when Richy Werenski bogeyed the par-3 18th, Hoge claimed sole possession of second place -- and $817,500. In addition, he earned 300 FedEx points. 

He ended up with a 65 on Sunday, for an aggregate of 265.  

That bogey cost Werenski a lot of money. It dropped him into a four-way tie for third  at 266 -- along with Nate Lashley, Brian Harman and Harris English -- and that was worth $366,094 to each of them. 

Niemann was an amateur prodigy. He was No. 1 in the World Amateur Rankings from May 2017 to April 2018, when he turned professional. Taking advantage of sponsors' exemptions, he had four top-10 finishes in his first eight PGA Tour events and thereby avoided having to go through what was then the Web.com (now Korn Ferry) Q-School, and after that, try to finish in the top 25 on the Web.com money list, which is the usual path to the PGA Tour.

He opened the Greenbrier tournament with a 5-under-par 65 and followed it with a 62. That put him in the lead, and he retained the lead with a 68 in Saturday's third round.

Hoge started Sunday's final round tied five shots behind, in a tie for ninth place. But his birdie spree on the front nine vaulted him into a a tie for first. Nieman regained the lead with birdies at the fifth and eighth holes. But he three-putted the green at the 396-yard, par-4 ninth (which Hoge had bogeyed, too), shortly after Hoge had birdied the 615-yard, par-5 12th. Once again, Niemann and Hoge were tied at the top. 

Hoge missed the fairway at the 13th (478 yards, par 4) and caught a flier with his second shot, which raced over the green, leaving him with a long chip shot back to a front pin. He left the chip 20 feet short and made a bogey. A couple of minutes later, Neimann nearly holed a wedge shot at the 10th (388, par 4). It was another two-shot swing, in reverse, and gave Niemann a lead that he would not surrender -- only expand.

A flaired 5-iron short and right at the 219-yard, par-3 15th cost Hoge another shot, and dropped him into a tie for third, behind Werenski. But his birdie at the 615-yard, par-5 17th pulled him even with Werenski.

Werenski had a chance to reclaim sole possession of second when he hit a bunker shot to 4 feet at the 17th, but he pushed his birdie putt. Then at the par-3 18th (181 yards), he thinned an 8-iron into the back buinker, blasted 15 feet past and missed the par putt from there.

Meanwhile, Niemann pulled his 5-iron tee shot at the 15th into a bunker and made a bogey. That, however, merely reduced his lead to three at that point, and he then ran off three consecutive birdies to put an exclamation point on his victory.  

As for Hoge, he finished 157th on the FedEx Points List for the 2018-19 PGA Tour season, with 252 points in 32 events, and had to go to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals to regain a place on the big tour. That shouldn't be a problem as far as the current season is concerned. The top 125 retain their status automatically, and that meant 376 points last seaso for No. 125 Pat Perez. With 300 points in the bank already this season, Hoge probably needs only another 75, 80 or 90 to be in the top 125 for the '19-20 season. 

No. 125 on the money list for 2018-19 was Nick Taylor, with $892,663. 


PGA TOUR

A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier 2020

At The Old White Course

Par 70, 7,274 yards

White Sulfer Springs, W. Va. 

1. Joaguin Niemann                       $1,350,000      65-62-68-64--259

2. Tom Hoge                                     $817,500       68-65-67-65--265

T3. Harris English                             $366,094       66-65-68-67--266

T3. Brian Harman                             $366,094       65-66-70-65--266

T3. Nate Lashley                              $366,094        68-64-65-69--266

T3. Richy Werenski                          $366,094        67-65-65-69--266