LIV Golf star vents frustrations moments after profitable £3m occasion
Joaquin Niemann is once more moaning in regards to the lack of majors he’ll play this 12 months regardless of profitable his first LIV Golf occasion. The ex-world No. 15 received LIV Golf Mayakoba in Mexico by beating Sergio Garcia in a four-hole playoff after each shot 12-under-par.
Niemann, 25, beforehand missed out on a win towards Dustin Johnson in his first LIV event, days following his exit from the PGA Tour in late August 2022. He left alongside newly-named The Open champion Cameron Smith and one other 4 high 100 gamers – Anirban Lahiri, Cameron Tringale, Harold Varner III and Marc Leishman.
The Chilean golfer ranked No. 19 globally again then, however 18 months on sits at 74th within the newest Official World Golf Ranking. He has dropped eight locations from the earlier week alone, regardless of profitable in Mexico, and 9 since 2023 began.
His rank dipped as a result of golfers can not earn rating factors from LIV Golf occasions. After all, the league remains to be not eligible for tour standing, no matter latest critiques.
After his victory at Mayakoba, Niemann expressed his frustration over the misplaced alternatives. He mentioned: “I’m not in the majors,” earlier than starting his post-round interview.
But this is not solely true – Niemann will likely be at The Open after profitable the Australian Open final 12 months to earn an exemption. However, his place on the Masters, PGA Championship or U.S. Open is just not assured.
His finest likelihood to return to Augusta was qualifying throughout final 12 months’s event, however he completed joint-Sixteenth, two strokes in need of securing his return in April. Only 5 LIV Golf gamers – Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Smith – have exemptions into all 4 majors after profitable one in all them comparatively not too long ago.
Niemann additionally goals to just do that. “I want to win majors, but I gotta get in first,” he mentioned at Mayakoba.
The Chilean additionally reiterated his hope that his kind caught the eye of the related governing our bodies, including when requested afterwards: “Oh, I hope so. I mean, I’m just ready.”
For now, it stays to be seen whether or not he’ll do sufficient over the approaching weeks and months. But that solely motivates Neimann extra.
“I think I have a different mindset for this year,” he continued. “It kind of hurt me a little bit not being in the majors, and I think also helped me to get motivation to earn my spot back into the majors, into the elite players.
“I feel it helped me just a little bit to get targeted again, to start out working tougher, to start out working with a objective.
“I think it’s paying off, and I just want to keep telling myself that I’m capable of doing this, of winning tournaments, and this is a good way to prove that, and I don’t want to stop working the way I’m doing it. I just want to keep going.”
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