Joaquín Niemann

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Joaquín Niemann
Personal information
NicknameJoaco
Born (1998-11-07) 7 November 1998 (age 25)
Santiago, Chile
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight69 kg (152 lb)
Sporting nationality Chile
ResidenceJupiter, Florida, U.S.[1]
Career
Turned professional2018
Current tour(s)European Tour
LIV Golf
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins12
Highest ranking15 (10 April 2022)[2]
(as of 24 March 2024)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
European Tour1
PGA Tour of Australasia1
LIV Golf2
Other7
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT16: 2023
PGA ChampionshipT23: 2022
U.S. OpenT23: 2020
The Open ChampionshipT53: 2022
Achievements and awards
Mark H. McCormack Medal2017

Joaquín Niemann (born 7 November 1998)[3] is a Chilean professional golfer. He won twice on the PGA Tour,[4] before joining LIV Golf in 2022. He was the number one ranked amateur golfer from May 2017 to April 2018.

Amateur career

Niemann was the number one ranked golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for 44 weeks, from May 2017 to April 2018, when he turned professional.[5][6] Niemann planned to play at the University of South Florida, but he was unable to gain entry due to his TOEFL scores.

Niemann won the 2017 Mark H. McCormack Medal for being the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at the conclusion of the summer's championship season, thus gaining entry into the 2018 U.S. Open and into the 2018 Open Championship.[7] He won the 2018 Latin America Amateur Championship gaining entry also into the 2018 Masters Tournament.[8]

Professional career

Niemann forfeited those exemptions to the 2018 U.S. Open and Open Championship to turn professional before the 2018 Valero Texas Open, where he finished 6th in his first tournament as a professional golfer. He earned Special Temporary Member Status on the PGA Tour for the rest of 2018 with a T6 finish at the Memorial Tournament, his third top-ten in only five starts on tour. He earned a PGA Tour card for the 2018–19 season, after a fourth top-10 finish (T5 at The Greenbrier) in eight tournaments.[9] Niemann joins Jordan Spieth (2013) and Jon Rahm (2016) as golfers who were able to completely bypass the Web.com Tour Finals and earn PGA Tour cards after starting the season without any status.

In September 2019, Niemann won A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier for his first PGA Tour victory. He became the first PGA Tour winner from Chile, and the youngest international PGA Tour winner since 1923.[10]

In December 2019, Niemann played on the International team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16–14. Niemann went 0–3–1 and lost his Sunday singles match against Patrick Cantlay.[11]

In January 2021, Niemann shot a final round 64 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He joined Harris English in a playoff, but was defeated on the first extra hole.[12] A week later, he finished T2 at the Sony Open in Hawaii; one stroke behind Kevin Na.[13]

In July 2021, Niemann shot a bogey free 18-under par for 72 holes to tie with Cameron Davis and Troy Merritt for the lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Niemann made his first bogey of the week on the first playoff hole and was eliminated. Davis was the eventual champion.[14]

In February 2022, Niemann shot rounds of 63-63-68-71, to win the Genesis Invitational hosted by Tiger Woods. He finished the tournament at 19-under par, two strokes ahead of Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young.[15]

LIV Golf

In August 2022, it was announced that Niemann had joined LIV Golf.[16] He was subsequently named as the captain of the Torque GC team and finished runner-up in his first start, at LIV Golf Invitational Boston, losing a playoff to Dustin Johnson.[17] In the 2023 LIV Golf League, his all Spanish-speaking Torque GC won more team titles (four) and collected more prize money than any other team during the regular season, before finishing 3rd in the $50 million Team Championship in Miami.[18]

On 4 February 2024, Niemann shot a 12-under-par 59 in the first round of the LIV Golf Mayakoba in Mexico. According to Data Golf, it was the third-best score in terms of true strokes gained since 2004.[19] In a playoff against Sergio García, Niemann won the tournament with a birdie on the fourth extra hole, for his first individual LIV Golf title.[20]

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Par 4 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 36 3 4 4 5 4 3 4 4 4 35 71
Score 4 4 3 2 4 3 4 3 3 30 2 2 4 4 4 2 4 3 4 29 59

In an interview following his win at LIV Golf Mayakoba, Niemann stated his desire to win major championships, but lamented that "I've got to get in first". Three weeks later, Augusta National Golf Club announced that Niemann was given a special invitation to compete in the 2024 Masters Tournament.[21]

Amateur wins

  • 2013 Campeonato Sudamericano Pre Juvenil, Campeonato Abierto de Golf de Temuco
  • 2014 Abierto Club de Polo San Cristobal
  • 2015 Junior Orange Bowl Championship, Abierto Las Brisas de Santo Domingo, IMG Academy Junior World Championships (Boys 15–17), Campeonato Juvenil de Chile, Canadian International Junior Challenge, Abierto Sport Francés
  • 2016 Campeonato Sudamericano Juvenil, Junior Golf World Cup, IMG Academy Junior World Championships (Boys 15–17), Campeonato Juvenil de Chile, Abierto Prince of Wales Country Club, Abierto Sport Francés
  • 2017 Abierto Las Araucarias, TaylorMade-Adidas Golf Junior at Innisbrook, Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, Campeonato Internacional de Aficionados - Mexico
  • 2018 Latin America Amateur Championship

Source:[22]

Professional wins (12)

PGA Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 15 Sep 2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier 65-62-68-64=259 −21 6 strokes United States Tom Hoge
2 20 Feb 2022 Genesis Invitational 63-63-68-71=265 −19 2 strokes United States Collin Morikawa, United States Cameron Young

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions United States Harris English Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic Australia Cameron Davis, United States Troy Merritt Davis won with par on fifth extra hole
Niemann eliminated by par on first hole

European Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 3 Dec 2023
(2024 season)
ISPS Handa Australian Open1 66-69-70-66=271 −14 Playoff Japan Rikuya Hoshino

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2023 ISPS Handa Australian Open Japan Rikuya Hoshino Won with eagle on second extra hole

Chilean Tour wins (7)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 13 Nov 2016 Abierto Las Brisas de Santo Domingo
(as an amateur)
68-68-73=209 −7 1 stroke Chile Juan Cerda, Chile Hugo León
2 29 Jan 2017 Abierto de Granadilla
(as an amateur)
66-64-70-72=272 −16 5 strokes Chile Antonio Costa
3 26 Mar 2017 Abierto Los Lirios
(as an amateur)
67-67-67-69=270 −18 9 strokes Chile Luis Figueroa
4 10 Sep 2017 Abierto Las Brisas de Chicureo
(as an amateur)
66-69-68=203 −13 1 stroke Chile Juan Cerda
5 16 Dec 2017 Abierto Club de Polo
(as an amateur)
66-65-70=201 −15 Playoff Chile Mito Pereira
6 11 Mar 2018 Abierto La Dehesa
(as an amateur)
64-69-68=201 −15 5 strokes Chile Matías Calderón, Argentina Ignacio Marino
7 2 Dec 2018 Abierto Club de Golf Los Leones 63-68-66-66=263 −25 14 strokes Chile Mito Pereira

LIV Golf League wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 4 Feb 2024 LIV Golf Mayakoba 59-72-70=201 −12 Playoff Spain Sergio García
2 3 Mar 2024 LIV Golf Jeddah 63-64-66=193 −17 4 strokes South Africa Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa Charl Schwartzel

LIV Golf League playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2022 LIV Golf Invitational Boston United States Dustin Johnson, India Anirban Lahiri Johnson won with eagle on first extra hole
2 2024 LIV Golf Mayakoba Spain Sergio García Won with birdie on fourth extra hole

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2017 2018
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T71
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Masters Tournament T40 T35 T16
PGA Championship CUT CUT T30 T23 CUT
U.S. Open T23 T31 T47 T32
The Open Championship CUT NT T59 T53 CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 3
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 3
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 4
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 3 19 12
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (2020 U.S. Open – 2023 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 0

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2021 2022
The Players Championship T29 T22

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 2020 2021 2022
Championship T28
Match Play NT1 T18 T35
Invitational T52 T17
Champions NT1 NT1 NT1

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Did not play

"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.

PGA Tour career summary

Season Starts Cuts
made
Wins 2nd 3rd Top-10 Top-25 Best
finish
Earnings
($)
Money
list rank[23]
2017 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 T29 n/a[a] n/a
2018 13 9 0 0 0 4 6 T5 n/a[a] n/a
2019 28 21 0 0 0 4 6 T5 1,434,519 79
2020 23 15 1 0 1 4 5 1 2,914,136 19
2021 27 26 0 3 0 5 13 2 3,936,912 26
2022 23 18 1 0 1 5 11 1 5,076,060 26
Career* 116 90 2 3 2 22 41 1 14,571,584 141[24]

a Niemann was an amateur through the 2018 Masters Tournament.

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

  1. ^ Romine, Brentley (May 31, 2018). "Joaquin Niemann, young in age but big in talent, shares Memorial lead". Golfweek.
  2. ^ "Week 15 2022 Ending 10 Apr 2022" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  3. ^ "Joaquín Niemann". EuroSport.
  4. ^ "Chappell set to defend, Garcia to return at Valero". PGA Tour. February 22, 2018.
  5. ^ "Niemann on top of the world". World Amateur Golf Ranking.
  6. ^ "Latest Rankings". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  7. ^ "Chile's Joaquin Niemann Wins 2017 McCormack Medal". USGA. August 24, 2017.
  8. ^ "Niemann wins Latin America Amateur with closing 63". USA Today. Associated Press. January 23, 2018.
  9. ^ "'Best day of my life!' 19-year-old Joaquin Niemann earns PGA Tour card in just eighth start". Golf.com. July 9, 2018.
  10. ^ "PGA Tour: Niemann becomes youngest non-US winner for 96 years". BBC Sport. September 15, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  11. ^ Dusek, David (December 15, 2019). "Presidents Cup grades: Captains, Royal Melbourne score high marks". Golfweek.
  12. ^ Jackson, Keith (January 11, 2021). "Tournament of Champions: Harris English birdies first playoff hole to hold off Joaquin Niemann". Sky Sports.
  13. ^ Stafford, Ali (January 18, 2021). "Kevin Na pips Joaquin Niemann and Chris Kirk to Sony Open victory". Sky Sports.
  14. ^ Lage, Larry (July 4, 2021). "Cam Davis wins Rocket Mortgage Classic on 5th playoff hole". Associated Press. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  15. ^ "Joaquin Niemann, 23, closes big week as first wire-to-wire winner of Genesis Invitational in 53 years". ESPN. Associated Press. February 20, 2022.
  16. ^ Schlabach, Mark (August 30, 2022). "Open champion Cameron Smith, five others leave PGA Tour for LIV Golf". ESPN. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  17. ^ Heath, Elliott (September 1, 2022). "Torque GC - LIV Golf Team". Golf Monthly. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  18. ^ "LIV Team Championship: Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers take title in Miami". BBC Sport. October 23, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  19. ^ Harig, Bob (February 5, 2024). "More Weekly Read: Putting Joaquin Niemann's LIV Golf 59 in Perspective". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  20. ^ "Joaquin Niemann outlasts Sergio Garcia, wins LIV Golf stop". ESPN. Associated Press. February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  21. ^ Ferguson, Doug (February 21, 2024). "LIV's Joaquin Niemann is one of three players to receive a special invitation to the Masters". USA Today. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Joaquin Niemann". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  23. ^ "Official Money". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  24. ^ "Career Money Leaders". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 28, 2022.

External links