Joaquin Niemann Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Why this notable LIV golfer is walking away both happy and frustrated after winning the Australian Open

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 07:00:38 +0000

For LIV Golf star Joaquin Niemann, the challenge was simple, if hefty.

Travel down to Australia, play its two biggest tournaments, which are co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, and secure enough Official World Golf Rankings points to climb almost 40 places and enter the top 50 by December 31 who are invited to the 2024 Masters.

It almost worked out.

After a fifth place at last week’s Australian PGA, Niemann jumped from World No. 87 to 82. On Sunday, he won the ISPS HANDA Australian Open in stunning fashion at The Australian Golf Club to give his quest a ray of hope. The Australian Open field included major winners like Cameron Smith and Adam Scott, as well as DP World Tour stars like Adrian Meronk, Min Woo Lee and Ryder Cup hero Bob MacIntyre.

Niemann, from Chile, was tied in regulation in Sydney at 14 under par (271) with Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino. After both made birdie on the first trip down the par-5 18th, Niemann fired his second shot to six feet on the second playoff hole and made the eagle putt to defeat Hoshino, who made birdie from a greenside bunker. It was Niemann’s first big victory since joining LIV last fall and since capturing the 2022 Genesis Invitational at Riviera.

An eagle on the second play-off hole sealed the win for @joaconiemann ? #AusOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/VFnCcr620L

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) December 3, 2023

“It means a lot,” Niemann said. “I wanted to win so bad for a long time.”

Overnight leader Lee was third at 12 under, while Adam Scott was among three players tied fourth at 11 under.

The Australian Women’s Open, played concurrently with the men’s event, was won by South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai, who successful defended her title by beating Min Woo Lee’s older sister, Minjee Lee, by a stroke.

The OWGR projections were made in the moments after Niemann’s win, and he is expected to move to No. 59. Even with playing in his native Chile Open next week, Niemann is unlikely to secure an invitation to the 2024 Masters before the year is out.

Impressive eagle finish from @joaconiemann down under to win the #AusOpen!!
He is projected to jump to #59 in the #OWGR! Not enough to get him in the top 50 at the end of the year. Will have to earn more points from somewhere before the next March deadline for #TheMasters… https://t.co/Ju1mVihpR3

— Nosferatu (@VC606) December 3, 2023

“Not even winning both tournaments would have been enough to get into the top 50 and the majors,” Niemann said. “But the Australian Open such a good tournament, so it was easy to make my decision to come here and play some golf. This means a lot.”

The silver lining to Niemann’s victory was the Australian Open awards three spots in the Open Championship each year courtesy of being part of the R&A’s Open qualifying series. The top three on the leaderboard in Sydney (not already exempt) secured starts at the 152nd Open at Royal Troon next year. They were Niemann, Hoshino and Scott.

“I’m still not sure how I’ll play all the majors [in 2024] but at least I know for sure I’m in the Open, which is nice,” Niemann said.

Ashleigh Buhai held of Australia’s Minjee Lee to repeat as the winner of the Women’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open, played concurrently with the men’s championship at The Australian Golf Course – Mark Metcalfe

Niemann was ranked No. 19 on the Official World Golf Rankings when he joined LIV last September. This year, Niemann spent most of the year inside the OWGR top 50, and played in all four majors. His best results were a T16 at the Masters and T23 at the U.S. Open.

But due to the 54-hole, no-cut league not receiving world ranking points, the former two-time PGA Tour winner’s ranking began to blow out from July onwards.

Niemann will still have opportunities in early 2024 to crack the OWGR top 50. But they will have to be extracurricular Asian Tour events outside LIV, which start in Mexico in late January. The Asian Tour has a partnership with LIV Golf and does receive OWGR points.

“Yeah, it is unfortunate, I think I should be playing those tournaments,” Niemann said of the majors. “I know I have the game to win one of the majors. It is what it is; I took this challenge [joining LIV] knowing that I was not going to be [assured of playing] in the majors, so I was going to go out there and try to [earn] my spot. That was my mentality of coming to Australia.”

The consolation, for now at least, was Niemann etched his name onto the Australian Open’s trophy, the Stonehaven Cup. The 119-year-old championship’s past winners include Jordan Spieth, who won at The Australian G.C. in 2014 and at Royal Sydney in 2016, as well as Rory McIlroy (2013), Tom Watson (1984) and six-time winner Jack Nicklaus, among others.

“There are some good names here; Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player,” Niemann said. “It feels pretty good [to join them]. It’s nice to be here with the trophy. This is a good test to get ready next season.”

A season Niemann hopes will include more majors.

Main Image: Andy Cheung

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Stars including Sergio Garcia and Joaquin Niemann sign up for Asian Tour’s International Series St Andrews Bay Championship

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 04:46:14 +0000

Sergio Garcia. Asian Tour

Sergio Garcia and Joaquin Niemann will be aiming to maintain their major momentum when they line-up in the Asian Tour’s inaugural St Andrews Bay Championship.

Spaniard Garcia and Chile’s Niemann both made the cut in last week’s US Open at Los Angeles Country Club and are looking to continue their good form in the second half of 2023.

Garcia’s fellow former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa and Chile’s Mito Pereira have also confirmed their places in the starting line-up at Fairmont St Andrews from August 24-27.

The $1.5 million St Andrews Bay Championship will be the 12th leg of the 2023 Asian Tour season and the sixth stop on The International Series.

“As our first tournament in the country that gave golf to the world, the St Andrews Bay Championship promises to be a momentous week for us,” said Cho Minn Thant, Asian Tour Commissioner & CEO. “It’s fitting, therefore, that we should have Major champions such as Sergio and Charl and players of the calibre of Joaquin and Mito to grace this auspicious occasion.”

Garcia, who tied for 27th in Los Angeles last week, has appeared regularly in Asian Tour events over the past two decades and has the distinction of having won titles in no fewer than six different countries — China, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Part of the Asian Tour’s 2023 ‘UK Summer Swing’, the St Andrews showpiece will be preceded by the International Series England, at Close House in Newcastle.

The Asian Tour’s elite-level International Series comprises 10 events, featuring elevated prize funds and welcoming top golfers from every continent and Tour.

On his International Series debut in February, Garcia tied for fifth in Oman, alongside Niemann.

Following the first four International Series events of 2023, American Andy Ogletree leads the way in the overall standings with Japan’s Takumi Kanaya, Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent and Australian Wade Ormsby in pursuit.

Callum Nicoll, Director of Golf & Estates at Fairmont St Andrews, said: “We’re thrilled that established stars such as Sergio, Charl, Mito and Joaquin will be competing in this historic and world-class event at Fairmont St Andrews.”

Stretching to 7,320 yards, the Torrance Course at Fairmont, set among 520 acres of stunning Scottish coastline with views of St Andrews Bay, is sure to provide a tough test.

Sculpted by European Ryder Cup legend Sam Torrance, the layout has previously hosted the DP World Tour and European Seniors Tour as well as being a venue for Open Qualifying.

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Niemann praises ‘unbelievable’ opportunity for Asian Tour players to have pathway to LIV

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 12:35:49 +0000

Chilean Joaquin Niemann believes having the opportunity to have a pathway through to the LIV Golf League is “unbelievable” for Asian Tour players and will provide them with life-changing opportunities.

The winner of the 2023 International Series Order of Merit will gain exemption to the 2024 LIV Golf League with Zimbabwean Scott Vincent being the lucky recipient last year after some impressive performances in 2022, including a victory at Slaley Hall in June.

The elevated International Series forms part of the Asian Tour and gives players the opportunity to play some of the best golf courses in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, while competing for $2million prize purses.

Current LIV star and world No. 23 Niemann, believes it is an unrivalled opportunity for Asian Tour players to have and commented: “It is unbelievable. An amazing opportunity. The Asian Tour has been around for a few years and LIV is doing great things right now to grow the game both in Asia and throughout the world.

“The game is growing tremendously over here, and I am just grateful to be part of growing the game of golf in places like this in the Middle East and throughout Asia. Having that pathway is a great opportunity for all of these players.”

Niemann, who shot rounds of 72, 70 and 69 in his first three rounds at Al Mouj Golf, in the opening International Series event of the year in Oman, sits nicely poised heading into the final round, tied fourth.

The diminutive 24-year-old has been hugely impressed by his first experience of the International Series and Asian Tour adding: “Yeah, this is actually my first event on the Asian Tour, and I have been loving it. The level out here is really impressive and the courses we play are really good.

“Condition wise I’m not used to playing with these types of winds, so it is nice to come here and see how much my game is set up against these kinds of conditions. I think it is great practice and a great place to be.”

Following Oman, Niemann will head for the opening LIV Golf League event of the year in Mayakoba.

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Dustin Johnson prevails as LIV Golf delivers drama and delight in first-ever playoff

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 05:48:51 +0000

By Evin Priest
The question coming into LIV Golf’s fourth event was the same one asked in the tour’s three prior starts: Could a no-cut, 54-hole tournament ever feel like a ‘real’ competition? The new circuit was certainly confident of putting on a show full of drama this time around, having bolstered its 48-player roster at The International outside Boston with six more PGA Tour stars including World No. 2 Cameron Smith.

Come Sunday, it was old-hand Dustin Johnson who delivered when he rattled home a 35-foot eagle putt on the first extra hole to win the LIV Boston Invitational in a playoff — the first in LIV history. Maybe all it took was 55 holes to create an ending that produced that bit more excitement.

MORE: Watch highlights from the LIV Golf finale

For what it’s worth, Johnson said his competitive juices were flowing as much as any other tournament he ever played. Golf fans may find that surprising — even hard to believe — given his 24 PGA Tour victories included the 2016 US Open and 2020 Masters. But the 38-year-old said his body told him this felt like competition.

“Yeah absolutely; if not more,” Johnson said. “Especially with that [$4 million winner’s] check you get. You can feel it, you pucker up a little bit coming down the last few holes, for sure.”

Johnson, along with LIV newcomers Anirban Lahiri and Joaquin Niemann, the two other in the playoff, certainly made the product more compelling than had been the case for LIV’s London, Portland and Bedminster events. The trio each finished 54 holes at 15-under 195, Johnson shooting a Sunday 65, Lahiri a 64 and Niemann a 66. And those weren’t even the day’s low score. Lee Westwood flirted with posting a sub-60 number, needing two birdies on his final three holes to do just that. Instead, he made two bogeys and a birdie for a 62 that left him one shot out of a playoff.

But Johnson was the one who provided the biggest fireworks. Returning to the par-5 18th, the first playoff hole, he hammered an eagle putt up the hill with so much force it rammed the back of the hole, bounced up and fell in. The sudden victory gave the fledging series its first American winner.

“I felt I had a really good read on it [but] I might have hit it a little harder than I wanted,” said Johnson, who hadn’t won a tournament anywhere since the 2021 Saudi Invitational. “As soon as I hit it, I begged it to hit the hole and it did. I think the hole is dented.”

Making his LIV debut less than two months after winning the 150th Open at St Andrews, Aussie Smith also did his best to add some entertainment. The 29-year-old Australian began the third and final round five shots off the lead but rallied with a 63 to finish at 14-under and one shot out of the playoff. After missing a birdie putt on No. 2, his last hole thanks to LIV’s shotgun start format, Smith tied for fourth with Westwood.

Smith had faced criticism before teeing off this week from major winners Gary Player and Fred Couples. Couples mocked LIV’s use of 54 holes while Player remarked, “What sort of tour is that? 54 holes, no cut, a team event. It’s never going to compare to the regular tour.”

But Smith, a six-time PGA Tour winner, pointed to the fans, who didn’t seem to care about the divide in professional golf, nor the fact LIV blasts loud music during competition and now allows players to wear shorts.

“The competition here is fantastic, it’s loud and it feels like the course has a heartbeat. I love that and I can’t wait to keep going.”

LIV plays its next event outside Chicago in two weeks.

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WATCH: LIV Golf highlights from The International near Boston as Dustin Johnson gets back in winner’s circle at last

Matt Smith — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 05:33:15 +0000

By Matt Smith
Dustin Johnson finally got back into winner’s circle after 19 months of missing out.

The victory came in a thrilling three-man playoff at LIV Golf’s fourth event at The International outside Boston on Sunday, as the 4 Aces captain prevailed over LIV Golf newcomers Anirban Lahiri and Joaquin Niemann.

Watch all the highlights below

[parone_video_player campaign=”465″ defaultlang=”en” feed=”51-all-videos”/]

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Ones to watch — Players in new territory as The International set for LIV Golf Invitational Series

Matt Smith — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 06:14:45 +0000

Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman practise ahead of LIV Golf Invitational Boston. LIV Golf

By Matt Smith
The golfers primed for the fourth LIV Golf International Series event, which begins on Friday at The International on the Tom Fazio-designed Oaks Course, which opened in 2001.

WATCH the LIV Golf action live here!

Last year, the Oaks Course underwent a restoration by Tripp Davis. “Our principal objective was to modernize the course,” Davis said of the tree-lined par-70 layout that will play to just under 7,000 yards.

It’s not a familiar venue for the 48 players in the field, but early reviews are favourable.

“The turf conditions are immaculate,” said LIV Golf newcomer and India No. 1 Anirban Lahiri after a practice round this week. “It’s a nice layout. It will make for some nice entertainment this week. You will see a lot of birdies. There’s a few hard holes. There’s some very, very pretty holes, very gorgeous holes.

“Like on TV, I think it’s going to look stunning as well … I know playing it is going to be very much a lot of fun.”

Lahiri is among the six players making their LIV Golf debuts this week. Not surprising, the highest-ranked player in that group leads the LIV Golf Power Rankings.

TOP FIVE PLAYERS FOR BOSTON

1. CAMERON SMITH Henrik Stenson showed in Bedminster that a newcomer can have quick success on LIV Golf. Easy to imagine the world No. 2 achieving the same thing in Boston. As Smith said on Wednesday in his introductory press conference: “I’m playing some of the best golf of my life at the moment.”

2. DUSTIN JOHNSON Ranks second in the individual points standings and fourth in total prize earnings (the three players above him are the first three individual champs). DJ already has raised trophies on the LIV podium but only as captain. Of his nine rounds on LIV, seven were under par and the other two at even par.

3. PATRICK REED DJ’s 4 Aces teammate has been equally as good since joining LIV in Portland. He has two top 5 finishes and is collectively 16-under. If the putter stays hot — he tied for fewest putts needed at Bedminster — he’ll be in contention again Sunday.

4. JOAQUIN NIEMANN Makes his LIV Golf debut in excellent form, with two top 10s and two other top 20s among his last five worldwide starts. The new Torque captain, always solid from tee to green, made strides with his putting last year but hasn’t been as effective in 2022.

5. CARLOS ORTIZ Backed up his runner-up finish at Portland by nearly making the podium again at Bedminster (finishing fourth, one stroke behind DJ). He’s a combined 19-under in his two LIV starts and has made Sergio Garcia a very happy captain of Fireballs.

OTHERS TO CONSIDER Would’ve been inclined to put Matthew Wolff in the top five based on his first two LIV finishes but not sure how The International will suit his game.
You could well see a third member of 4 Aces in the top five — Talor Gooch is three-for-three in top 10 finishes.
Paul Casey finished sixth at Bedminster on his LIV debut, shooting 66 in the final round. Looks like he’s shaken off any lingering rust from his lengthy absence due to back issues.
Casey’s Majesticks teammates Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood would each love to repeat their ball-striking performances at Bedminster.

TOP FOUR TEAMS FOR BOSTON

1. 4 ACES The current line-up is unbeaten, so no way they belong anywhere else but atop the team projections. The Johnson-Reed duo is the best 1-2 punch on any squad, while Gooch joins DJ as the only two LIV players with top 10 finishes in the first three events.

2. PUNCH The all-Aussie team gets a significant facelift with new captain Smith and sidekick Marc Leishman joining the team. Adding that kind of physical talent is one thing, but it should also pay dividends in team chemistry. No one wants to disappoint the world No. 2.

3. CRUSHERS This is the week captain Bryson DeChambeau’s team finally makes some noise. The International should set up well for ball-strikers Paul Casey and Charles Howell III, and the addition of new LIV member Anirban Lahiri provides another veteran presence.

4. FIREBALLS They’ve been third in the past two events, so this would be a disappointing slide out of the money position. Can Carlos Ortiz continue to carry the team? If so — and if Abraham Ancer gets untracked — then maybe it’ll be a step up, not a step down.

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It’s official: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann confirm signing with LIV Golf

Matt Smith — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 13:15:51 +0000

By Matt Smith
World No.2 Cameron Smith is finally heading to LIV Golf — and he is not alone.

WATCH the LIV Golf action live here!

The Australian will be joined by compatriot Marc Leishman and the top player under the age of 25 — Joaquin Neimann — when the new series tees off its fourth event at The International, Bolton, Massachusetts, this week.

Welcome to LIV Cameron Smith ?#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/XhZeAyneyg

— LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) August 30, 2022

Smith had widely been reported to be joining LIV Golf ever since his Open Championship win at St Andrews in July — something he has never denied — and reports suggest he has signed on for $100 million.

Chilean Niemann will also be in the field after his manger Carlos Rodriguez confirmed to AP that he is on the way.

Niemann is the highest-ranked player in the world under the age of 25 and, along with Smith, will be regarded as a big miss on the PGA Tour, who have suspended any players who compete in LIV Golf.

Leishman will be one of a number of Australians in the LIV Golf ranks as CEO Greg Norman looks to put an Antipodean team together, to line up alongside Dustin Johnson’s all-American 4 Aces, the Spanish-speaking Fireballs the Japanese Torque and the cream of Europe at Majesticks.

Also joining up for Boston is India star Anirban Lahiri and American Harold Varner III.

Here is the full line-up for the fourth LIV Golf event at The international.

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Open Championship 2022: Cameron Smith’s chill vibe, Rory McIlroy’s bubble, Tiger Woods’ future and 15 other parting thoughts from St Andrews

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 06:32:22 +0000

By Dan Rapaport

Noted fisherman Cameron Smith reeled in Rory McIlroy for the biggest catch of his life, delivering a final round for the ages with a 64 at the Old Course. There is so, so much to discuss. Here are our parting thoughts from the 150th Open Championship.

1. We start, as always, with the winner. Cameron Smith was not the fan favourite on Sunday, but he has the ideal temperament to win a major championship as the non-fan favourite. The entire British island, and the Irish one west of it, did everything in its power to will Rory McIlroy to victory. Smith hardly seemed to notice. He is as easygoing as they come, seemingly impervious to noise or narrative. As he strutted through the back-nine in just 30 shots late on Sunday afternoon, he carried himself like a chill-as-hell Queenslander out for a twilight round on the links. As the Aussies say: “No dramas, mate.”

Rory McIlroy. Warren Little

2. On Saturday evening, with the Claret Jug firmly in sight, Rory McIlroy spoke of wanting to stay in his own bubble during what he knew would be a mentally taxing final round. His reasoning: If I interact with the crowd too much, I’ll allow myself to think about what a victory would look and feel like, and that’s an express route to failure. I certainly understand the sentiment — wanting to keep a layer of emotional insulation between your golf game and everything else — but I found it a particularly interesting comment given an interaction I had with him early in the week.
It was Thursday morning, and McIlroy had just finished the par-4 fourth when his group discovered the threesome ahead still on the tee of the par-5 fifth. He, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele stopped between the two holes to watch the group behind them finish out. (It was a theme for the first two days, particularly so on Thursday, when afternoon rounds dragged longer than six hours.) Once the group ahead had hit, Rory and Co moseyed on over to the tee, where I happened to be sitting. McIlroy, needing to kill some time, came over for a chat. He wanted to know what the ‘D’ logo on my hat was. A personal brand? No, of course not. It’s an alternate logo for Deepdale Golf Club. He’d played there. He remembered the head pro. We discussed the course and its elite membership. Then we talked about hoodies. He liked mine, and I asked if he’d ever played in one. He’d considered it, but ultimately decided the hood itself was a bit too large and might interfere with his swing. Then he turned around to hit.
McIlroy shot 66 that day, and he clearly wasn’t in his own bubble. At least not in that moment. I don’t pretend to know what kind of attitude he should have down the stretch — he’s won four majors, I’ve won zero — and Thursday morning and Sunday afternoon are not the same proposition. But maybe that’s part of the problem? That he seems to play his best golf when he’s loose, and it’s virtually impossible to be loose with three holes left at the Old Course? Or maybe it was just an ice-cold putter. (Yeah, probably that.) By the way, per the oracle Justin Ray: McIlroy is the first player on record to start Sunday with at least a share of the lead, hit every green in regulation and lose. He also hit it in just one bunker all week and holed out from it for eagle. He simply could not hole a putt when he needed to all weekend.

Cameron Young. Andrew Redington

3. Cameron Young now has five runner-up finishes in a highly impressive rookie season. He’s not satisfied. At all. Just days before heading overseas for the Scottish double, Young called his caddie Scott McKean to have the conversation every caddie fears. Making that call even tougher: McKean and Young are best friends. Like, best-man-in-wedding level boys. They became tight at Wake Forest, and McKean was on the bag for Young’s year on the Korn Ferry Tour, as well as the other four runners-up. Young felt it was in his best interest to have a veteran caddie on the bag; he didn’t love that each event was both his and his looper’s first time seeing a golf course. And so he pulled off the band-aid.
“I kind of, as much as I’ve had a solid year, there’s been a couple things missing, I think,” Young said Thursday. “I haven’t won anything, and that was just something that could change to kind of exhaust all my options to see what I could do better. That was just something that we as a team decided was probably best for my golf.”
Business comes first, and elite athletes have to make some brutal choices.

4: On the Tiger front … so, now what? Woods actually looked better physically at the Open than he did at either Augusta National or Southern Hills. The limp was less pronounced, and he was not at all far behind Matt Fitzpatrick or Max Homa off the tee. Which, of course, makes sense — the Old Course is dead flat, and he had another two months to strengthen his leg. But his game was powerfully rusty. He looked great in practice, striped it on the range, then couldn’t seem to get the ball into the hole once the scorecard was in his back pocket. The issue is that he simply cannot play enough events to develop competitive sharpness. When he came back from his back fusion, he spoke of being pain-free. He is never, ever pain-free anymore. He played 19 events in 2018 and five more in 2019 before his Masters victory. He’d proven himself a winner on the PGA Tour and a consistent contender in majors before finally cross the line. Even Woods cannot expect to turn up a few times a year, at the hardest courses, against the best fields, and snap back into championship-level form.
But he also doesn’t even seem to be considering playing more. After his 75 on Friday, he said he had zero events planned, that all he wanted to do this year was play in these three majors. He was then asked if he might try to play more events next year with an eye toward tightening his game before the majors.
“I understand all that. I understand being more battle hardened, but it’s hard just to walk and play 18 holes,” Woods said. “People have no idea what I have to go through and the hours of the work on the body, pre and post, each and every single day to do what I just did. That’s what people don’t understand. They don’t see. And then you think about playing more events on top of that, it’s hard enough just to do what I did.”
There is a distinct possibility, perhaps even probability, that this is the new normal for Woods — majors, and majors only. We simply don’t know if it’s even possible for his leg to get strong enough to sustain playing, say, 10 events a year, and we do know that he’d never in a million years ask for a cart. We know better than to count him out, but you do wonder how he would feel if he’s nowhere near contention in the majors next year. He’s said countless times that he does not have any interest in being a ceremonial golfer, but he’s also addicted to competition and seems his happiest inside the ropes, trading barbs with the boys. His future is a giant question mark.

5. This brought the close of an enchanting fortnight in Scotland, one in which we saw PGA Tour players, often (fairly) caricatured as golfing robots, morph into golf nerds like the rest of us. Max Homa couldn’t get enough, sneaking out for a twilight 18 at North Berwick after making the cut at the Scottish Open. On Wednesday evening of Open week, a few other media types came through with a last-minute invite to play Elie Golf House Club, an impossibly charming layout about 25 minutes due south of St Andrews. Andy Johnson, founder of The Fried Egg, described it as one of those rounds that fills up the tank. Spot-on. After watching the pros devise a plan of action for picking apart the Old Course, we were all itching for a crack at a links ourselves, and we got one. We teed off around 7pm and finished, just barely, in near-darkness. We shared a cab ride back and told jokes, debated our favourite holes and marvelled at the experience we’d just shared. In what other sport is there such a direct link between the best players in the world and the amateurs? This was like a bunch of American football journalists, adrenalin pumping after covering a Super Bowl practice, running Oklahoma drills. Or a couple basketball journalists, after watching a particularly fiery Final Four. Maybe that happens, but I don’t think so. Our connection to this game runs so deep because we play this game. Here’s to hoping that never changes.

6. Viktor Hovland just didn’t hit it well enough to win, so it’s sort of a moot point, but I can’t wrap my head around how conservatively he played on Sunday. The Norwegian’s driver is among his chief weapons, and even after falling behind early he opted to lay back with a driving iron a number of times. The most egregious example came on the par-4 ninth, one of the drivable holes at the Old Course that beg for a birdie. It’s not a particularly hard decision — virtually everyone in the field hit driver up by the green, and there were miles of turf right to welcome a block. It’s not a particularly tight tee shot, but Hovland pulled driving iron and did not give himself a good look at birdie. The only explanation: He just didn’t feel comfortable hitting one of the two most important clubs in the bag at St Andrews. (The other, of course, being the putter). It didn’t exactly scream confidence.

Viktor Hovland. Warren Little

7. Guys spent more time at St Andrews in the lead-up to the event than you’ll ever see at any other major. Typically, by Wednesday afternoon, the golf course is empty and the range is populated only by those desperate strugglers searching for a last-minute miracle. This week, the links and practice facilities were buzzing until about 7pm. Part of that was an attempt to familiarise themselves with the humps and bumps, but it was also because they wanted to milk every last minute out of a week they’ll tell their grandchildren about. It carried over into the tournament itself as I can’t recall seeing so many fist-pumps before noon on Thursday. Of course, guys want to be in contention at any major, but this week, they seemed almost desperate to get into the mix and feel the rush of chasing a title at the Old Course.

8. The way the Old Course played this week, springy and bouncy and brown, brought an interesting word to mind: luck. What role does luck have in this game? In a tournament that, by its very nature, should identify the best golfer of the week?
Opinions varied. Widely. On the whole, old-timey writers (and players) believe luck has always been baked into the fabric of this sport. It’s not supposed to be fair. Take Tiger Woods’ first hole of the tournament, for example. He flushed a long iron exactly where he was looking, and it finished in a fresh and sandy divot. Is that … is that good? Should that happen? In this case, I lean on the side of yes: this is a sport that’s played outside. Luck of the draw with tee times and conditions have always factored into determining who wins. If it was all supposed to be perfectly fair, why don’t we just give each player a piece of AstroTurf to carry around and hit off of? Why not just have competitions inside a simulator?
But not all luck is the same — there is luck of the draw and rub of the green, and then there’s having to hit and simply hope for the best. According to US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, there was way too much of that going on this week.
“I’m not really a fan,” Fitzpatrick said of the course and the set-up this week after his Saturday round. “It’s difficult to … I just feel like sometimes … I’ve heard it on commentary all week. You can hit good shots and get bad bounces. And you can hit bad shots and get good bounces. Like I say, I felt, for the first seven holes, I didn’t really miss a shot. I’m walking off seventh green and I’m plus-1. It’s tough to take. It’s tough to stay patient. I hit the green on 12, and I just got no putt. It’s tucked on top of a hill, and I hit what I thought was a good putt and it comes to 12 feet. There’s a lot of stuff like that that’s been done, obviously, to protect it from going lower, I guess … 16, for me, is an example of a hole where I’ve just tried to make par all week, just bang it into the long rough, wedge it up on the green, and get out with a par.”

Matt Fitzpatrick. R&A

Anecdotally, it did seem like most birdies this week were made by guys hitting it up by the green in one less than regulation — so, on their drive on a par 4, or in two on a par 5 — hoping their ball ended up in a good spot and getting up and down. There were so many driver-putters this week, and wedge/short-iron play was borderline irrelevant. When asked the two most important parts of your game you need firing to have success out here, Kevin Kisner didn’t have to think twice: Driving and lag putting. That’s different from the other major championship tests we’ve seen in recent years, where iron play is critical. As far as identifying the best players, it’s hard to argue with the quality of the leaderboard, and the unpredictable nature of the Old Course produced some highly entertaining viewing, but Fitzpatrick has a point. Justin Thomas, however, saw things differently. Like, direct opposite:
“The good part about this week is with the little amount of wind is they’ve been able to set some challenging pins,” Thomas said. And when the greens are rolling a 9 or a 10, you can do that. It’s not unfair, it’s just difficult. I thought the R&A did an unbelievable job setting up the course this week. ”
The lesson here: in any context, you’re never going to please 156 golfers.

9. For such an iconic venue, the opening tee shot at St Andrews is among the more underwhelming ones — a long iron, or a hybrid, or a fairway wood into perhaps the widest fairway in championship golf. There’s a certain charm in the first-tee introductions — “On the tee, from the USA, Tiger Woods!” — and the fans welcome each player to the tee with warm applause. Then, the player hits his shot and no one really knows exactly what to do, because literally all of them find the fairway. Contrast that with the first tee shot at Augusta, with that cavernous bunker down the right begging for a ball, trees right of it and a forest down the left. That shot can set the tone for a round; the first tee shot at the Old Course is essentially just a formality.

10. On the flip side, the first tee gave players an opportunity to show off their stingers. Yes, it was a stinger parade, with guys wanting to flight a long iron below the wind and have it roll for days. The nastiest one I saw this week — and by that I just mean, the lowest — and thus the current King of the Stinger: Joaquin Niemann. Max Homa gets the silver, Tommy Fleetwood the bronze.

11. We want athletes to be real with us, to avoid press conference mad-libs and provide a window into their true feelings. Of course, doing so might not be in their best interest — verbalising insecurities only makes them more real, and it’s not a coincidence that so many guys answer questions the same exact way. In their minds, there is little upside in spilling the beans to the press. Some brave (naïve) souls, however, eschew the sports-psychologist recommendations and let us in. McIlroy is the most salient example of this, but he’s not the only one. Enter Robert MacIntyre.
MacIntyre is currently the best player from Scotland, where this game started, and he wears that label (burden?) proudly. He spoke glowingly of the Scottish Open all week, wanting desperately to put on a good show for the home crowd. He wanted it even more at St Andrews, which made his back nine on Friday a pressure cooker. After a bogey at 15, he needed to play the last three in even par to get to the weekend on the number. He did, and then he exhaled.

Robert MacIntyre. David Cannon

“I’ve never been that stressed on a golf course in my life,” he said on Saturday. “With seven holes to go, I don’t know what was going on. Had to turn away from the actual fairway on 16 because there was too much going on. Fan support is absolutely brilliant, but I was feeling it. Almost … you’re not letting people down, but you know how much it means. There’s so many people supporting me, and it means so much to me that I just didn’t … I wasn’t going to let them down because I was having a hard bit, but I was trying almost too hard. I mean, last night I was sitting at the dinner table just slouched, didn’t know what to do. I was trying to eat, but I was just, I was done. I could have curled up in a ball when I finished and cried.”
Now that … that’s real.

12. Talor Gooch was the butt of a few jokes last week, but we’re going to focus on something he said that won’t be widely lambasted. “It was spectacular out there,” Gooch said after an opening-round 78. “There’s no better clap, cheer, roar than one at the Open. There’s something different about it. It sounds better than any other place.”
I’ll tell you what sounds different: there are no screams of “GET IN THE HOLE!” or “MASHED POTATOES!” There is indeed something viscerally pleasing about the sound of hundreds or thousands of people clapping thunderously, but not screaming. That’s the sound of the Open.

13. If I’m a LIV golfer, I’d be phoning whoever I can as often as I can to get updates on the Official World Golf Ranking conundrum. As Woods alluded to in his media conference, there is a distinct possibility that, at least in the short term, non-major winners who play the LIV series will not be able to get into majors if the circuit doesn’t offer World Ranking points soon. Guys in that position include Talor Gooch, Abraham Ancer, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Kevin Na, to name a few. Those guys being warm-blooded human beings with a pulse, this had to have been one of, if not the, best week of their year, and the prospect of not participating in these seminal events would toss me into an existential crisis.
Casey, for one, said he made the decision knowing full well that he’d likely slide down the world rankings, and that would likely impact his major-playing future. He did it anyway, pointing to his 45 years, and the fact he’s now played 71 major championships.
“It’s an interesting question for the younger guys,” Casey said. “Myself, I mean, I’m hanging on in the World Rankings. I don’t know what guys are going to do. I think there’s the option of playing some Asian Tour events. We’re going to see what happens with the DP World Tour. But I was under no illusions that my ranking could slide and be out within however long, whatever the timeframe is. More incentive to play well this week as well to try and get points.”
With the major season now in the rearview mirror, the LIV golfers are going to have to get creative should they want World Ranking points. And they desperately want World Ranking points. So, per Casey, a number of them are kicking around the idea in WhatsApp groups of playing Asian Tour events during the extended off periods between some LIV events. The saga continues.

14. Speaking of the saga … the golf world came together for four days in Scotland, but we were reminded of the drama while fans were still trying to leave the property. That’s when Cameron Smith was asked about the speculation of him making the move and … didn’t deny it. Minutes later, Sky Sports’ Jamie Weir reported that Henrik Stenson would join LIV imminently and be stripped of his Ryder Cup captaincy. Even if major weeks may provide some respite, the saga is not going to stop any time soon.

15. There’s always a random storyline that develops during major weeks that’s only tangentially related to the competition. This week, that role was emphatically filled by airline baggage woes. It seemed half the press room was dealing with lost luggage — or, worse, lost golf clubs. The pros weren’t immune to these issues, either, as Mark Calcavecchia didn’t get his sticks until Wednesday evening. But the quirkiest baggage story of the week came courtesy of Trey Mullinax, who won last week’s opposite-field Barbasol Championship then had to scramble to get to Scotland. When he got to the Old Course, he noticed his irons had been bent out of shape, the product of TSA searching through his bag then not bothering to put the clubs back in the actual golf bag, meaning they were loose in the travel case. He did not, however, notice that his putter’s loft was two degrees off until he made the cut on the number on Friday.
“I knew it looked funny,” he said with a laugh. “I was having to tell my caddie, man, I’m having to forward press this a lot. I was like, man, I don’t know what’s going on. The ball wasn’t rolling like it was in Kentucky. Surely I didn’t lose it in two days.” Indeed, he didn’t — after getting it adjusted, he fired a six-under 66 on Saturday. He blamed his mistake on “pure laziness”.

16. While perusing the entry list this week, one name in particular caught my attention: Justin de los Santos. He played under the flag of the Philippines this week, the birthplace of both his parents, and Justin grew up in Southern California. We played a number of rounds in junior golf together. It’s my job to cover this game, so I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I didn’t even know he’d turned professional. Justin went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, an excellent academic university but not exactly a PGA Tour player factory. While there, he took a class in Japanese with an eye toward plying his trade in Asia.
“Coming out of college, I tried to do Korn Ferry Tour school but didn’t get through. Then, to be honest, I needed the money. I figured the Asian and Japan Tour were better money than Canada and Latinamerica, and I didn’t quite have the funding to do Korn Ferry Mondays.”

Justin de los Santos. R&A

Off to Asia he went. Justin has spent the better part of three years in Japan, grinding on that tour and working hard to improve his Japanese. He’s 30th on the money list this year and No. 497 in the World Ranking. How, then, did he get into such an iconic championship? He birdied his final two holes to finish solo fourth in the Gate Way to the Open Mizuno Open, snagging the last of four spots up for grabs. He made his way to Scotland but decided staying in the town of St Andrews wasn’t worth the money, so he found a place about 15 minutes away by car. He doesn’t have a full-time caddie, so he picked up a local looper who has been working at the Old Course for 37 years. His name is John, but Justin couldn’t remember his last name. “Starts with a P, I think.”
Justin made the cut on the number, which is huge for two reasons: the Open purse dwarfs those of normal Japan Tour events, but it counts toward the money list, so he’ll move up considerably. Secondly, making a cut in a major gets you into second stage of Korn Ferry Tour qualifying school. Before this week, Justin didn’t know if he could afford to spend all that money to potentially not get out of first stage and figured he’d just continue focusing on keeping his card in Japan. Now, he’s thinking he’ll give KFT qualifying school a try once again. He desperately wants to get back to the States, and this week brought him much closer to that goal. With so much golf talk these days on nine-figure guaranteed contracts, stories like Justin’s resonate a bit deeper — particularly for me, given my memories of us playing together as kids. I absolutely loved seeing him this week.

17. I learned a new term this week: gravities. Apparently it’s a measure of green-speed firmness. The Stimpmeter is a staple of the golf course lexicon, but I genuinely had never heard of measuring the firmness of the greens. As in this bulletin from the R&A: “Greens single cut at 3.5 mm. Speed 10.6 — same as yesterday. Firmness is 161 gravities — 8 gravities firmer than yesterday.” This seems like valuable information to have, an added indicator of the conditions of the greens beyond just their speeds. Perhaps this will become more common.
Anyways, I was curious how they measure this, so I did some capital-J Journalism and found the answer! There’s a contraption called the clegg hammer, and it drops a steel ball onto the ground. It measures the firmness of the turf by how high the ball bounces off said turf. Next time you’re out with the squad for a weekend round, ask them how many gravities they think the greens are bouncing at.

18. Just like that, the men’s major season is over, and with another four big ones in the books, I’m feeling especially grateful. For this place, for this sport, and for all of you, who apparently enjoy my ramblings enough to read all the way to the bottom. I can’t thank all of you enough for following and allowing me to do what I love. There are 262 days until the first round of the Masters, but who’s counting. Until next time.

The post Open Championship 2022: Cameron Smith’s chill vibe, Rory McIlroy’s bubble, Tiger Woods’ future and 15 other parting thoughts from St Andrews appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Travelers takeaways from Day 1: A weary Rory still shoots 62, Xander’s new focus and Spieth can’t stop talking (to his ball)

Golf Digest Middle East — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 05:42:52 +0000

By Shane Ryan
If you thought Rory McIlroy might be flagging just a little, following a run of terrific form interrupted only by his regular vociferous defences of the PGA Tour, well … you’d be right. He’s under the weather, he’s tired after a punishing US Open and he’s looking forward to his time off starting on Monday, when he’ll start his preparation for the Open Championship at St Andrews. We could be forgiven for thinking that he might not set the world on fire in his last stop before the big rest at the Travelers Championship.

Guess what? He set the world on fire.

With a scintillating 62 at TPC River Highlands, McIlroy seized a share of the opening-round lead with the lowest Day 1 score he’s ever shot in a PGA Tour event. And he did it with very little preparation.

“I didn’t hit any golf balls Monday and Tuesday,” he said. “I flew back down to Florida for a day, spent the night in my own bed, flew back up Tuesday, didn’t come to the course, and then yesterday playing the pro-am in the rain wasn’t really great preparation, but … I played well at Brookline. I’m not going to lose it in two days. I knew my game was good.”

It started out just modestly good, with an opening nine that felt “slow, in a way,” at least to McIlroy. His first birdie came at the 13th, his fourth hole of the day, when he buried a 31-foot birdie putt on the par 5. He followed with another birdie on 15, and finished off his opening with an approach to nine feet on 18 that he converted for a third birdie. It was at that point that he truly did the “caught fire” thing, making five more birdies on the front to post a 30.

The most impressive of the bunch may have been this bomb from 47 feet on 7:

Back to back birdies @TravelersChamp ?@McIlroyRory is tied for the lead with @XSchauffele at -7. pic.twitter.com/WNN7e7kFuL

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 23, 2022

He finished his round with a 332-yard drive on the short par-4 ninth, and a simple 44-yard pitch nestled inside two feet, setting up his eighth and final birdie in a round with no bogeys. Coming off Brookline, the performance felt like a breath of fresh air.

“It’s like the anti-US Open here,” he said. “It’s like US Open rehab coming here. You’re like, ‘oh, I can actually make some birdies. This is nice.’”

McIlroy also continued what has started to seem like his second full-time job: backing up the PGA Tour. When asked for comments on Jay Monahan’s press conference and the new PGA Tour schedule, he seemed sincerely pleased.

“Some of the things that he said yesterday I think are great,” he said. “Some of the changes that were made to the schedule, to … I think Webb [Simpson] was talking about it, it’ll make the regular season much more competitive. Everyone starts at zero at the start of the year. Everyone has the same opportunity to make the big events with the big prize funds and whatever. I think it’ll make it more competitive and make it a more compelling product, honestly. I think it’ll be good.”

Meanwhile, here are four other takeaways from Day 1 in Cromwell, Conn.

Hello, Xander

Xander Schauffele. Andrew Reaves

Rory shared the first-round lead with JT Poston, who was on 59 watch after making the turn in six-under 29 on the front. Just behind them is Xander Schauffele, who carded a seven-under 63 to finish one off the lead. And he did it with some panache, going a perfect 18 of 18 in greens in regulation.

“It’s been really solid,” he said of his game. “I’ve just been talking to my dad. He thinks I’m tinkering too much. He wants me to do what I did today … focus a lot on land numbers, just numbers in general versus me trying to tinker with my golf swing too much. It kind of made me hone in on targets. I’ve been playing pretty solid, just haven’t really gotten over the hump this year in terms of putting a string of tournaments together that are really good.”

On one hand, Schauffele has made 10 of 12 cuts on the year and is constantly in the top 20. On the other, he’s only had three top-fives, and has faded outside the OWGR top 10 for the first time in more than a year.

When asked if he had ever hit 18 greens before, he said yes, with a catch — he’s done it in practice. As he acknowledged, though, that’s a different story than a perfect GIR round on tour. And unfortunately for him, there’s no respite — it’s a crowded leaderboard at the top, and as history has shown us, you can’t afford to tread water at this course.

Martin Laird matched Schauffele with a 63, while the group at 64 includes a duo of big names in Webb Simpson and Patrick Cantlay. Harris English, the defending champ, stayed close with a 66. This helped.

Please, give us more of the handshake celebrations

There’s something so funny about a player and his caddie shaking hands after a good shot. It’s probably because if you were creating a stereotype of a stuffy golfer, this is what they would do, and it kind of subverts that in a hilarious way. It’s also just extremely funny to turn what should be a fist-pump moment into something so proper and casual. Watch Scheffler and Ted Scott master the form after Scheffler’s chip-in:

A chip-in worthy of a handshake ??

Perfection from Scottie Scheffler @TravelersChamp. pic.twitter.com/zPJdodnFMY

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 23, 2022

Scheffler finished with a 68, still theoretically within shouting distance of the lead.

Spieth-talking-to-his-ball content!!!!

Even when it’s simple, we can’t get enough of this:

Never change, @JordanSpieth ? pic.twitter.com/B9qQb6D9Ik

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 23, 2022

It’s the second best genre in golf, trailing only Spieth-talks-to-caddie-Michael Greller. Unfortunately for Spieth, a disastrous finishing stretch consigned the 2017 Travelers winner to a five-over 75, which isn’t very far from the absolute bottom of the leaderboard. Beyond the begging, there was a lot of this.

Joaquin Niemann is top of the flops

One more video for you, because there hasn’t been a successful flop shot yet that wasn’t beautiful to watch. Here’s Niemann, working with very, very little green:

Tasty.

What a flop shot from @JoacoNiemann ? pic.twitter.com/gJpvD14g6u

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 23, 2022

Chef’s kiss, Joaquin. Never stop floppin’.

The post Travelers takeaways from Day 1: A weary Rory still shoots 62, Xander’s new focus and Spieth can’t stop talking (to his ball) appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Joaquin Niemann’s game isn’t just the secret of golf geeks anymore after an impressive win at Riviera

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 02:25:04 +0000

Photo By: Katharine Lotze

By Dan Rapaport
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — As the sun went into hiding and the sweaters emerged at Riviera Country Club, Joaquin Niemann experienced a brief moment of heat. His chaser for the previous three days, Cameron Young, had just holed out from 53 yards for birdie on 15, the type of shot that flips momentum. Meanwhile, Niemann’s right hand had been a little too eager on a six-footer for par; a power lip out left a good 3½ feet for bogey to maintain a two-shot lead while Young stood on the 16th tee—a not-so-subtle display of gamesmanship.

Niemann collected himself, took his time, poured his bogey putt in the heart and regained control of a tournament that had been the 23-year-old Chilean’s since Thursday afternoon. In a goosebump-inducing coincidence, Niemann is the first wire-to-wire winner of Genesis Invitational since Charlie Sifford, the first Black man to play on the PGA Tour and the namesake for a yearly exemption into the Genesis Invitational, did it in 1969.

“I played my best golf on Thursday and Friday, and I knew the weekend was going to be hard, it was going to be a battle,” Niemann said. “I knew I’d be fighting myself a lot during those two days.

“It was amazing to [win wire to wire] because this would have been [Sifford’s] 100th birthday year. … I’m just happy to be a winner here at Riviera.”

Niemann polished off the victory with a workmanlike even-par 71 on Sunday, more than good enough after he ran off from a field that included all 10 of the top 10 players in the World Ranking by opening with back-to-back rounds of 63. At Riviera! He reached 21 under through 46 holes with an eagle at the tricky par-4 10th on Saturday but played his final holes in two over. Niemann did nearly the exact same thing on Sunday, hooping an eagle chip at the par-4 11th to get to 21 under before playing his final holes in two over.

The margin of victory—two, over Young and hometown boy Collin Morikawa, who ate Japanese food on Sawtelle Boulevard all week and closed with 65 to get to T-2—doesn’t properly reflect Niemann’s grasp on this tournament. But margins of victory do not matter in golf, and Niemann’s second PGA Tour win, at an iconic course, hosted by Tiger Woods, against a hyper-elite field, is the type of win that boosts careers.

Young, a 25-year-old rookie who looks and acts like a grizzled veteran, hung with Niemann step for step on the weekend. He trailed by two after two rounds and trailed by two after four. It is the Wake Forest grad’s second runner-up finish this season after a T-2 at the Sanderson Farms Classic last fall. This, though—this silver was different. After the round, Young was asked if he planned to play the Arnold Palmer Invitational in two weeks. “If they let me in,” he said, not yet aware that he jumped from No. 113 in the World Ranking to somewhere inside top 55.

Rob Carr
Cameron Young (right) finished two shots back of Niemann, but the rookie’s T-2 showing left an impression of its own.

“I think kind of once the iron shot on 18 didn’t go in, you’re kind of like accepting what’s going on,” Young said. “I mean, Joaquin wasn’t going to three-putt that realistically, his speed’s been so good all week. Overall, you finish tied for second at Riviera, I can’t complain. I mean, I’m lucky just to be here, and I know it does some good things for me going forward. So I am happy with the week, for sure.”

Niemann’s putting may have been good, but it was his iron play that was outstanding. He picked up more than seven shots on the field with his approaches, easily the best of anyone in the field. Niemann’s swing is distinctly modern: There’s a tremendous amount of side-bend on the downswing, his head drops significantly and his right arm is bent and noticeably under his left at impact. It’s not dissimilar, if you slow it down, from Young’s move, and it’s a type of move Woods said on Sunday he “simply can’t do.”

It’s a swing that has seen Niemann excel at every level—he submitted the World Amateur Golf Rankings as an 18-year-old and achieved the ultra-rare feat of securing a PGA Tour card through seven sponsor’s exemptions shortly after turning professional in 2018. He’s part of a growing contingent of Latin Americans on the PGA Tour, all of whom seem to stick together. They try to rent houses close to one another on the road, share a chef, have lively dinners and create a home-away-from-home feel. Carlos Ortiz, Jhonattan Vegas, Sebastian Munoz and Mito Pereira all stuck around after their rounds to watch Niemann receive the trophy from Woods.

“Having them here on 18, it was something really special for me,” Niemann said. “Obviously, we got the tournament, but knowing that they’re there for me, waiting for me to see me receiving the trophy was something really special. I’m really thankful and happy because of the friends that I have.”

Niemann’s victory put a bow on a week dominated by talk of the rumoured Saudi golf league. On Monday, tour player Kramer Hickok told the Stripe Show Podcast that 17 players had already signed up to play on the rival circuit, despite players knowing that would result in a suspension or ban from the PGA Tour. Three days later, revelations of comments Phil Mickelson had made in November to the Fire Pit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck for an upcoming biography on the six-time major winner surfaced, changing the conversation from nervous resignation about the league to frustration and resentment. On Sunday, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau dealt the upstart circuit a serious blow by joining a number of other top players in committing their futures to the PGA Tour.

Cliff Hawkins
Niemann was appreciative of winning a tournament hosted by Tiger Woods and with such storied history.

Niemann, on the other hand, remained mum on the topic throughout the week. His tone changed slightly as he basked in the glory of a special victory.

“Obviously everyone’s here to compete against the best players in the world. I’m here to do the same. I want to compete with the best players in the world, I want to be No. 1 one day.

“I think there’s nothing better like what I’m feeling right now. Winning a PGA Tour event, getting a trophy, having Tiger there, all the history behind, there’s nothing that can compete with this.”

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