LIV Golf player Joaquin Niemann is in the form of his career, and that has helped him secure appearances at three of the year's four Majors, with the latest being an invite to the PGA Championship.
The Chilean secured a place at The Open thanks to his victory at the DP World Tour’s Australian Open in December. He then won the first LIV Golf event of the season, LIV Golf Mayakoba, and weeks later was among three players to receive a special invite to The Masters.
However, he has now confirmed that he has also accepted an invite to the PGA Championship at Valhalla. The 25 year old, who claimed his second LIV Golf win in its opening three tournaments of the season in Jeddah, revealed to GolfWRX’s Matt Vincenzi: “Yeah, I got an invite for the PGA Championship as well. So I’m in that one.”
Niemann, who missed the cut at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, is far beneath the top 70 needed to qualify for the event via the PGA Championship Points standings, in 249th, but the invite guarantees his place.
Despite his stunning form in recent months, like many other LIV Golf players, Niemann's world ranking has fallen because the circuit is not able to offer the points in its tournaments.
Niemann was 18th in the rankings when he joined LIV Golf in 2022, but is now down to World No.72. That would have left his chances of playing in any of this year’s four Majors in serious doubt, but he began addressing the issue by guaranteeing his place at July's Royal Troon event after winning the Australian Open in a playoff against Rikuya Hishino.
After another playoff win, this time over Spaniard Sergio Garcia at the season's opening LIV Golf event at El Camaleon Golf Club, he secured a special invite to The Masters along with Thorbjorn Olesen and Ryo Hisatsune.
Following Niemann’s LIV Golf Mayakoba win last month, Dom Boulet interviewed him, and said: "Joaquin, you're one of the best players in the world - we expected you to win earlier." Niemann quickly responded: "But I'm not in the Majors."
A few weeks on and not only can he now make plans for appearances at three of the four big events, but he also told Vincenzi that he intends to try to qualify for the US Open.
