Joaquin Niemann Dramatically Wins Australian Open

Chile's Joaquin Niemann beat Japan's Rikuya Hoshino in a play-off to win the Australian Open for the first time. The pair finished level on 14 under par after 72 holes and both birdied the 18th to send the sudden-death play-off to a second hole.

Niemann, 25, then sensationally improved on Hoshino's birdie with an eagle to claim victory at the Australian Golf Club in Sydney.

The champion admitted his "putting hasn't been the best" recently and that he had been "working hard on it”. He said: "It was nice to make that last putt. I always practice those three, four, five-feet ones and know that one of those will be to win a tournament. It's amazing."

Winning his maiden DP World Tour title has now given two-time US PGA Tour winner Niemann, who joined the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series last year, an exemption to next year's Open and some much-needed world ranking points. Since joining LIV Golf, the one-time world No. 15 has tumbled down the rankings. This victory will arrest that slide.

Joaquin Niemann Profile

Niemann was born in Santiago on November 7, 1998.

He was the world’s number one ranked amateur golfer for 44 weeks, from May 2017 to April 2018, when he turned professional.

He won the 2018 Latin America Amateur Championship, gaining him a place in the field for The Masters the same year.

He turned professional before the 2018 Texas Open, where he finished sixth in his pro debut. He earned Special Temporary Member Status on the PGA Tour for the rest of 2018 with a T6 finish at the Memorial, his third top-ten in only five starts. He earned a PGA Tour card for 2018-19 after a fourth top-10 finish in eight tournaments.

In September 2019, Niemann won The Greenbrier for his first PGA Tour victory. He became the first PGA Tour winner from Chile, and the youngest international PGA Tour winner since 1923.

In December 2019, he played on the International team at the Presidents Cup but was on the losing side as the USA won 16-14.

In January 2021, Niemann shot a final round 64 at the Tournament of Champions but lost in a playoff to Harris English. The following week he finished tied second at the Sony Open. He also lost in a playoff at the Rocket Mortgage.

In February 2022, Niemann won the Genesis Invitational and in August announced that he was joining LIV Golf.

Niemann averages 302.4 yards from the tee, finds 57.93% of fairways and hits 62.50% of greens in regulation. He gets up and down from the sand 41.67% of the time, averages 29.42 putts per round and averages 3.50 birdies per round.