LIV Golf star surges to lead at the Irish Open

Joaquin Niemann has had playing opportunities aplenty since he held the No. 1 World Amateur Golf Ranking for 44 consecutive weeks prior to turning pro in 2018. Taking advantage of his first PGA Tour start, Niemann earned special status for the remainder of the 2018 season thanks to a sixth-place finish at the Valero Texas Open.

Niemann racked up a win at the 2019 Greenbrier, becoming the first PGA Tour winner from Chile. Niemann has also played on the Presidents Cup International Team that same year. He added a second PGA Tour event at the Genesis Invitational in 2022.

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But with LIV Golf’s uncertainty, Niemann is one of the many players still keeping options open for the future. At this week’s Amgen Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg, Ireland, Niemann is showing he’s ready for any stage in the future.

The Chilean star is No. 42 in the most recent Official World Golf Ranking, something he could improve upon if he can maintain the pace he set on Thursday. After making his only bogey of the day on No. 13, Niemann posted four straight birdies and finished the day with a 65, putting him into the lead after the early wave of players.

“You know, it’s really tricky, and a really fun golf course to play with, especially with the Irish weather. Still getting used to this wind and the rain,” Niemann said. “That bogey on 13, it was a pretty bad bogey and felt like that kind of helped me to kind of get back into the present, you know, I feel like I got a little bit unfocused there.”

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“You’ve gotta hit those tee shots. Keep it under the wind, the left-to-right wind. I was talking with my caddie, like every shot into the wind is just times 100, probably,” he said. “So if it’s a bad shot, then it’s a really bad shot, but if it’s a good shot, it’s just so-so.”

Niemann posted a pair of victories during the LIV Golf season, one in Korea and another in New York, and ended the season in third place in the individual standings.

Tim Schmitt is the managing editor of Golfweek.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LIV Golf star surges to lead at the Irish Open