Joaquin Niemann Player Profile And What's In The Bag

Joaquin Niemann survived starting the day with a two-stroke penalty to beat Sergio Garcia at the fourth playoff hole and win LIV Golf’s season-opening Mayakoba tournament. The Chilean was adjudged to have taken an incorrect drop during the second round and instead of going into the third and final round with a four-stroke lead it was slashed in half.

But he shrugged it off to collect the $4m winners’ cheque after a titanic struggle in Mexico with Garcia and LIV debutant Jon Rahm.

• Player Profile
• Key Stats
• What's In The Bag

He began the week with a sensational round of 59 but it all became something of a battle thereafter. 

Tournament favourite Rahm struggled to find his best form over the first 12 holes in the final round with erratic driving, poor iron play and multiple missed birdie attempts from inside of 20 feet. As a result of some indifferent play, Rahm found himself three strokes behind by the time he made the turn. 

But he made three birdies in a row from the 13th to pull level at the top of the leaderboard with Garcia. Niemann, 25, had fallen one shot back at the time but then quickly joined the duo with a birdie on the par-four 16th. 

With Garcia in the clubhouse at 12-under par following a final-round 66, Rahm took an iron off the tee on par-four 17th but found the penalty area well left of the fairway and it led to a costly bogey-five to fall out of the lead. Rahm pushed for a birdie down the last but he found the bunker with his tee shot and went on to make a consecutive bogey to finish tied third on 10-under par. 

Playing alongside Rahm in the final group, Niemann had a birdie putt from inside of 12 feet on 18 but he missed on the left side.

It meant a playoff down 18 with his former mentor Garcia. After three tied holes in par down the 18th, Garcia and Niemann were asked by a rules official whether they wanted to return on Monday morning due to fading light. But they both agreed to play the 18th one more time. Garcia made his first big mistake in the playoff by sending his second shot into the deep rough to the right of the green by the bunker, and Niemann then sent a wedge into 15 feet. The Spaniard chipped up to some 12 feet but it mattered little as Niemann then drained the birdie putt for the win in darkness. 

Player Profile

Niemann was born in Santiago on November 7, 1998.

He was the world’s number one ranked 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. In December 2023, Niemann won the Australian Open. He finished tied fourth at the 2024 Dubai Desert Classic and on Friday, February 2 he became the latest golfer to join the 59 club with a stunning opening round at Mayakoba. It was the second sub-60 score on the LIV Golf tour - Bryson DeChambeau shot a 58 in 2023.

In 121 starts on the PGA Tour he won twice, finished second three times and third twice and made 93 cuts. He is ranked 66th in the world.

Key Stats

Driving Distance - 302.4 Yards

Driving Accuracy - 57.93%

Greens in Regulation - 62.50%

Sand Saves - 41.67%

Putts Per Round - 29.42

What's In Joaquin Niemann’s Golf Bag

Driver:  PING G430 LST

3-Wood: PING G430 MAX Fairway

7-Wood: PING G425 MAX Fairway

Irons: PING Blueprint S Irons (5-PW)

Wedges: PING Prototype Wedges

Putter: PING PLD Anser Custom Putter

Ball: Titleist Pro V1