Joaquin Niemann ran away from the field at LIV Golf UK this week, beating Bubba Watson by three strokes to earn his fifth win on the breakaway league this season. The 26-year-old Chilean has four more wins than Bryson DeChambeau this year and five more than Jon Rahm. His bank account, naturally, has swelled as he’s racked up wins against a 54-man field.
That’s all well and good, and frankly, not at all surprising. Niemann’s talent has never been in question. He’s a world-class ball-striker who appeared to be on the brink of stardom when he left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. Seven wins on LIV and two other worldwide victories have followed that decision, and Niemann’s star has continued to shine.
How bright that star is has been one of golf’s big questions this season.
Rahm spoke with the media after Niemann’s win at JCB Golf and Country Club and addressed Niemann’s place in the global golf pecking order. Niemann is currently ranked 19th in Data Golf’s rankings, right behind Sam Burns and ahead of U.S. Open winner J.J. Spaun.
“In my mind, nowadays in golf, due to various circumstances, I think Joaquin is severely underrated,” Rahm said. “He’s one of the best players in the world, and he keeps proving it. When it comes to his game, he’s good at everything, right? Obviously has loads of confidence right now and taking advantage of that. It’s never easy to win. To do it multiple times, let alone five times in a season, is quite impressive.
“I’ve seen all those strokes gained rankings. I still don’t understand. He’s won five times here. How is he behind so many of us? I don’t know the numbers. I don’t know. My guess is obviously it’s majors, events outside of LIV that may be pushing him back. It’s not a true reflection. He is undoubtedly a top-10 player in the world right now. I’m saying that conservatively.”
For all of Niemann’s success on LIV, each celebratory press conference brings the same questions: When will this Joaquin Niemann flash at majors?
That looming question. How great can Joaquin Niemann be? That is one that only he can answer by playing his best on the biggest stages. Niemann knows that and believes it’s coming. It’s only a matter of time.
“I feel like there is nothing else to try,” Niemann said on Sunday. “Yeah, it frustrated me a lot to not be playing good at the majors, but I know I’m going to make it happen. I know I’m going to figure it out. Obviously, this is a game that’s really frustrating, and I think we all know that. Sometimes we take it personal, like the game is doing something against us. In the position I am in, I feel like I’m always going to learn something from every mistake and every bad result. I’m patient, so I know the results are going to come. I’m just going to wait for them.”
This major season, Niemann carded his first career major top 10 at the PGA Championship. He was never in contention at Quail Hollow, but his resume needed a Wikipedia yellow. He missed the cut at the U.S. Open and Open Championship and finished T29 at the Masters. Niemann now has one top-10 and five top-25 finishes in 26 major starts in his career. He has missed nine cuts.
Despite another disappointing major season, Niemann believes he’s one of the 10 best players in the world. Per Data Golf’s True Strokes Gained metric (which considers strength of field), Niemann ranks third on LIV in total strokes gained behind Rahm and DeChambeau at plus-1.57. That number would put Niemann ninth on the PGA Tour between Keegan Bradley and Spaun. Seven of the 10 players above Niemann in total strokes gained have won majors. The other three are Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley and Sepp Straka. Fleetwood has two major runner-ups, seven top-five finishes and eight top 10s. Henley has five top-10s in 30 starts, but four have come in his last eight. Straka has two top 10s but has only made three cuts in his last six majors.
Niemann is proud of the success he has found on LIV but is aware that he needs to keep pounding at the major championship door to cement himself as the caliber of player he and Rahm already see.
“I feel like there is always something else I’m going to be chasing,” Niemann said. “I feel like that’s the way I am. Yeah, I feel like I’m always trying to chase something better and better every time.”
