Joaquin Niemann: Going to LIV Golf made me 'realise this'

LIV Golf's Joaquin Niemann says being frozen out of the majors by virtue of his world ranking has made him more determined than ever to win one.

Ben Smith

03 May 2024

LIV Golf's Joaquin Niemann says the major championships 'being taken away from me' has made him more determined than ever to win one.

Niemann was beginning to establish himself as a potential PGA Tour star when he decided to bolt to the breakaway in time for the last four events of their inaugural season.

When he did so, he was inside the top 50 players in the world and, at the very least, appeared as though he would likely stay within the bracket for the foreseeable future to ensure starts in majors.

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But LIV failed to get accreditation by the governing body after a protracted back-and-forth and according to a furious Greg Norman the league has officially withdrawn their application.

In fairness to Niemann, he has not decided to take the same approach as his compatriot Talor Gooch after being left on the outside looking in.

The American has continually complained about his situation but done nothing to rectify it.

Gooch told reporters before LIV Golf Singapore he had no plans to attempt to qualify for the Open or U.S. Open.

His throwaway comment led to an immediate outburst of anger from golf fans.

Niemann, on the other hand, has travelled all over the globe to play on OWGR-accredited tours to try and get into the majors.

His victory at Australian Open at the turn of the year saw him get a spot into this July's Open at Royal Troon.

Rory McIlroy with Joaquin Niemann at the 2024 Masters

That win was enough to grab the attention of Augusta National officials who invited him to the 2024 Masters where he finished T-22. His case was also bolstered given he is a former Latin America Amateur champion.

The PGA of America has invited him to the PGA Championship but he'll head to local qualifying to try and get into the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No.2.

Niemann told the Straits Times: "Since I started playing golf, my dream was to be winning majors.

"I’ve always had that dream, but I feel now it’s even bigger knowing that they took the majors away from me for a little bit.

"Knowing that made me realise how much I want to win a major.

"Going to LIV helped me realise and see that and work harder to get to the majors because I know that if I’m in, I have a chance to win.”

His comments will likely turn some heads given the uncertainty was over major participation was clear when joining the breakaway.

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