Joaquin Niemann agrees with Rory McIlroy's world tour model for the future of golf, while also telling Golf Monthly about his Masters invite, playing with Tiger Woods and why he feels he's got the game to win Majors.
Niemann says he knew he'd lose world ranking points when joining LIV Golf, and now they're off the table he agrees with McIlroy's suggestion of a golf future involving worldwide events.
"I agree with Rory that big national championships like the Australian Open should be a bigger part of the worldwide schedule," said Niemann
Niemann won in Australia as part of a sparkling spell of form, including winning two of the first three LIV events, that made his exclusion from The Masters raise plenty of eyebrows - until Augusta National gave him an invite to the 2024 tournament.
And hearing Niemann talk about his love of The Masters explains why he was so desperate to make the trip down Magnolia Lane again, especially after his experience of playing with Tiger Woods last year.
“Playing in the Masters was always my dream growing up," Niemann told Golf Monthly. "It was the event I watched most often on TV.
“I was a boy from a football-mad country, with a father who played basketball in college and a mother who played field hockey for Chile. That is a very popular sport in my country, and my mum jokes that I got my swing from her, from the way she swung a hockey stick.
“And my dad was the one I would watch the Masters with on TV.
“I won Tiger’s event, the Genesis Invitational, in February, and It was an incredible feeling when he presented me with the trophy. And a couple of months later I was drawn alongside him and Louis Oosthuizen in the first two rounds of the Masters.
“Then Louis pulled out with an injury after the first round, and it was only me and Tiger on day two. Just the two of us walking the fairways of Augusta, followed by the massive crowds who always turn up when Tiger is playing anywhere in the world.
“It was hard not to imagine this was the final round, with me and Tiger battling it out for the green jacket. The truth was we both battled hard to make the cut, and finished in the middle of the pack. But at least I could dream for a while!”
Niemann could've booked his Masters return last year with a top 10 finish, which was within reach before a triple bogey on the 11th hole on Sunday.
“I did have some sleepless nights dreaming about that triple bogey at 11," he admitted. "I just couldn’t believe I got it so wrong when I was playing such great golf.
“Walking to the eleventh tee I knew I couldn’t win. But I was telling myself that my first top ten in the Majors was definitely a possibility, and if not a top 12 to earn an automatic place in the field for 2024.
“Then you take seven and you kind of think ‘what just happened’. How could I be that stupid? Even a bogey would have given me a share of tenth place.
“But once I was informed by Augusta National that I had been chosen for an invite, it felt like a big weight was lifted from me."
As he prepares for another Masters, Niemann added that: "People like Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson have said I have the game to win Majors, and I think that too."
Niemann, captain of Torque in LIV Golf, says the team aspect is one of the best parts of his new career on Greg Norman's tour.
"Being made the youngest team captain at LIV was one of my proudest moments in golf," he insisted.
“That team element is one of the things I love most about LIV. Yes, the money is incredible, but I was also attracted by the way LIV wants to change the face of golf.
“But one of my goals starting out was to become world No 1 as a professional as well as an amateur, and until LIV gets ranking points, that is not a realistic possibility.
“Joining LIV was not a case of putting that ambition aside, but hoping things would change so that our performances could be recognised, the same way it is with the guys on the PGA Tour."
