LIV Golf Miami 2025 Preview, Picks & Analysis

If Phil Mickelson is to be believed, Joaquin Niemann is the best golfer in the world. It is, of course, complete nonsense.

But the Chilean golfer has the chance to win his third LIV Golf title of the year at Doral’s Blue Monster course as he prepares to tee it up at Augusta National next week. He will join the likes of fellow LIV golfers Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, Mickelson, Tyrrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel and Bubba Watson at The Masters.

I question the choice of Doral as a course to prepare for the season’s first major. Yes it is long, but it is made for low scoring. It hardly amounts to the perfect test for those with designs on winning the Green Jacket.

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While Mickelson’s claims about Niemann are preposterous, the truth is that he is a world-class golfer who is capable of winning a major.

He continued this astonishing run of form by winning LIV’s recent Singapore tournament at Sentosa Golf Club by five shots after a final round of 65. It was his fourth victory on the breakaway circuit, behind only Brooks Koepka, who has five victories to his name.

The Chilean began the day tied for the lead with Johnson but birdied the first and picked up five more birdies. Niemann, who finished second to Jon Rahm in the LIV Golf League last year, won the $4m first prize and moved top of the standings.

The 26-year-old has now won six times in the past 16 months with LIV wins in Mexico and Saudi last year and in Adelaide and Singapore this season to go with his 2023 Australian Open success and 2024 Saudi International title.

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 that year announced that he was joining LIV Golf. He won the Australian Open at the end of 2023.

On 4 February 2024, Niemann shot a 12-under-par 59 in the first round of the LIV Golf Mayakoba in Mexico. He won the event in a playoff with Sergio Garcia for his first individual LIV Golf title. Later in the year he also won LIV Golf Jeddah.

I expect to see Hatton, Koepka and DeChambeau challenging at Augusta. Hatton has enjoyed an extraordinary run of form. Despite limited opportunities, he is still comfortably within the top 20 in the world rankings after winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October and the Dubai Desert Classic in January. There was also a runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi and a sixth-place finish at the DP World Tour Championship.

The Course:

The Blue Monster is a par 72 that measures a formidable 7,608 yards and features a huge number of water hazards. But the fairways are pretty generous so expect to see some low scoring. Designed by Dick Wilson, it played host to the Doral Open from 1962 until 2006 and the WGC-Cadillac Championship from 2007 until 2016. The PGA Tour cut Doral adrift because of its ties with Donald Trump, who owns it.

Prize Money:

The winner will collect $4m.

To Win:

Tyrrell Hatton. A proven winner

Each Way: 

Joaquin Niemann. World-class

Each Way:

Bryson DeChambeau. Course is made for him

Five to Follow: 

Tyrrell Hatton. Never a dull minute

Joaquin Niemann. Serial winner

Bryson DeChambeau. Could rip Doral to shreds

Sergio Garcia. In fine form

Brooks Koepka. Fabulous ball striker