Category: Joaquin Niemann

LIV Golf: 2024 Power Rankings through Andalucia and The Open

Jon Rahm keeps packing on the Top 10’s and Bryson DeChambeau lit up the first three majors of the year–yet Joaquin Niemann continues to hold the lead in the LIV Power Rankings.

Of the 18 LIV players to tee it up for The Open Championship at Royal Troon, 11 made the cut where brutal wind and gnarly rough saw 10 of the Top 20 players in the World Rankings head home for the weekend.

The weather continued to play havoc with scoring as rain came in on Saturday afternoon, adding another element to the difficult conditions at Troon, and then on Sunday the wind abruptly turned 180 degrees presenting the players with an entirely new look—and requiring a big shift in strategy and approach amidst the pressure of the final round at a major championship.

As the leaders came back to the field, Jon Rahm battled the elements and stayed within striking distance at 2 over through the first three rounds. On Sunday Jon came out guns blazing with 3 birdies on the first 3 holes and 32 on the front-nine to pull within 2 shots of the lead before a wayward tee shot on the 11^th hole led to a bogie that derailed his run.

Although Rahm didn’t pick up his third major, his T7 adds another Major Top 10 to an already phenomenal record, and he will join Phil, DJ, Sergio and Lee Westwood among the first 50 in All-Time Top 100 Players.

LIV Power Ranking Update

Players are rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner up, Top-5 and Top-10 finishes–as well as performance at the major championships.

Top 5

No. 1 Joaquin Niemann: 87.4 Rating

Along with his two wins at Mayakoba and Jeddah, Niemann has also recorded 6-Top 10’s including his T6 at Andalucia last week, and improved his average finish of 9.6, second only to Jon Rahm.

Although his performance at the major’s has not met expectations thus far in his early career, it is only a matter of time before Joaquin breaks out in a big way—and there is nothing not to like about this young man (exemplified by the 4 birdies he made on the back nine Friday at Troon following a nightmare 8 at the Postage Stamp Par 3).

No. 2 Jon Rahm: 86.0 Rating

Still no LIV wins (incredibly), but five Top-5’s and four Top-10’s in nine LIV events this year is pretty tough to beat. And with all those great finishes, it’s not a surprise that Rahm also holds a substantial lead in average finish at 6.0.

Although Jon came up short at The Open, there was a glimpse of the fire that the world is used to seeing from Rahm when he is in the hunt on Sunday—look for him to break through with his first LIV win this weekend at The UK.

No. 3 Bryson DeChambeau: 84.6 Rating

In addition to his U.S. Open win, runner up at the PGA and T6 at The Masters, Bryson has recorded 2-Top 5’s (Jeddah and Nashville) along with 4 Top-10’s (including a T9 at Andalucia last week).

While Bryson missed the cut at The Open this week, his 2024 season has been nothing less than spectacular—and you can look forward to watching him bomb his way to the top of the leaderboard at major championships for many years to come.

No. 4 Tyrell Hatton: 77.9 Rating

Hatton recorded a T3 at Andalucia on the heels of his first LIV win in Nashville at The Grove, where he dominated for a six-shot margin of victory.

For the season, Tyrell has recorded 3 Top-5’s and a Top-10 to go along with his win, while sporting the third best average finish at 10.1—just behind Niemann.

No. 5 Sergio Garcia: 67.9 With his home-court win at Andalucia last week, Sergio jumped into the Top 5 on the Power rankings. In addition to his win, Garcia has also recorded a pair of runner-up finishes (Mayakoba and Trump Doral in Miami), as well as a T5 at Houston.

No. 5 Dean Burmester: 67.0 Rating

Dean got off to a fast start in the ’24 season with a T3 at Mayakoba, a T8 in Hong Kong, a win in Miami at Trump National Doral and another T3 at Adelade—but cooled off with no Top 10’s in his last four LIV events.

It seemed that the Burmester magic was back as he stayed among the leaders through Thursday and Friday at The Open, but as the rain and wind grew stronger on Saturday afternoon Dean’s hopes were washed away with a 41 on the back, and a 3^rd round 76.

Burmester re-set and shot an even par 71 on Sunday for a solid Top 20 Open finish, so it seems that he’s ready to resume his early season success.

Notables

Brooks Koepka (No. 6/63.9 Rating)

For a lot of players making the cut at all four majors wouldn’t be all that bad, but for Koepka it’s a dismal year.

Brooks has recorded a win, a Top 5 and 2-Top 10’s thus far in 2024 however, so he’s still in position to make a move with big finishes at the U.K., Greenbrier and Bolingbrook Golf Club in Chicago. But will he be motivated?

Phil (No. 41/33.0 Rating

Phil continues his slumber in the LIV events, but he was teeing it up on Saturday at Royal Troon while ten of the top twenty players in the world were lounging on the couch.

And although it wasn’t the same Phil who fought Henrik Stenson tooth and nail at Troon in 2016, firing that brilliant final found 65, he’s still got some game at 54 years old (finished in a tie with 2023 Open Champion Brian Harmon and ahead of Hideki Matsuyama, another World Top 20 player).

The 2024 Open Championship was also the 102^nd time that Mickelson has made the cut at a major championship, tying Gary Player for second behind Jack.

2024 Upcoming LIV Schedule

United Kingdom: JCB Golf and Country Club (July26-28)

Greenbrier: Old White-Greenbrier (August 16-18)

Chicago: Bolingbrook Golf Club (September 13-15)

Team Championship Dallas: Maridoe Golf Club (September 20-22)

Looking for a great track or planning a golf trip–find everything you need with the GolfDay Search Engine.

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LIV Golf: 2022 Power Ratings

Now that the first LIV season has been completed, we’ve taken a look at which players had the greatest success heading into 2023. Players have been rated and ranked on the basis of events played, average finish, wins, runner up, top five and top ten’s–as well as performance at the 2022 major championships (LIV Player Rankings).

While sixty-eight players participated at various events throughout the year, we’ve included only the top forty-eight, using finishes in the individual portion of each tournament.

Not surprisingly, Dustin Johnson dominated pretty much from start to finish. Cameron Smith had an immediate impact following his jump to LIV after winning The Open Championship, and Joaquin Niemann played superb golf—at 24 years old, the young gun that LIV hopes will attract other talented PGA stars in their twenty’s.

Top 5

No. 1 Dustin Johnson: 80.9 Rating

After opening with an 8^thplace finish at the initial event in London, Dustin recorded a T3 at Pumkin Ridge in Portland, a T2 in Bedminster and then won the fourth event in Boston. In the seven stroke play tournaments on the schedule, Johnson recorded four top 5’s, a top 10 and a win—with his worst finish being a T15 in Bangkok. For the season, Dustin’s average finish was 5.1. When you add a T6 at the Open Championship, Johnson is at the top of the LIV power rankings by a wide margin.

No. 2 Cameron Smith: 62.2 Rating

Following his brilliant performance at St. Andrews, Cam came up a shot shy of joining the playoff in his first LIV event at The International Club in Boston, settling for a T4 at 14 under par. He kicked it up a notch by winning in his second event at Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago, so in the four events he played, Cameron recorded a win and top 5.

With his Open Championship victory and a T3 at The Masters, Smith is second on the LIV power rankings.

No. 3 Joaquin Niemann: 58.7 Rating

At 24 years old, Joaquin Niemann is one of the brightest young stars in golf. After joining the PGA Tour at 19, Niemann recorded 22 Top-10’s including 2 wins in 5 years–making the cut in just under 80% of the events he entered while reaching the Tour Championship in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Joaquin joined LIV prior to the fourth event in Boston, and immediately recorded a runner-up finish (losing to DJ in a playoff). With a T4 at Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago and a T3 at the final regular event in Jeddah, Nieman recorder three Top 5 finishes in the four events he played, with an average finish of 7.3–just behind Johnson.

No. 4 Patrick Reed: 57.2 Rating

Patrick recorded a T3 in his first LIV event in Portland, and finished among the top 5 in three of the five events he played (including a runner-up at Bangkok and a 5^th at Trump National Bedminster).

Reed also ended the season with a 10.8 average finish (3^rd behind DJ and Niemann).

**Charl Schwartzel**
**https://pictures.reuters.com/**

No. 5 Charl Schwartzel: 54.3 Rating

After winning the first LIV event in London, Charl recorded two additional Top 10’s (Chicago and Jeddah.). When you add his Top 10 at The Masters in April, Schwartzel comes in at number 5.

Notables

Sergio Garcia (No. 6–54.1 Rating)

Garcia got off to a slow start in his first two LIV events, but recorded four Top 10’s in his last five tournaments (including Top-5’s in Chicago and Jeddah). Garcia’s average finish for the year was 12.9 (the 6th highest of the top 48 players who competed in the 2022 LIV events)

Talor Gooch (No. 8–52.4 Rating)

Gooch finished among the Top 10 in each of the first four LIV events in 2022, but dropped off significantly in the final 3 (although he recorded a T12 at the final regular event in Jeddah).

Only seven players were better than Talor’s average finish of 13.6.

Brooks Koepka (No. 9–52.2 Rating)

Brooks’ mediocre play in his first four LIV events is likely due to lingering pain from the knee injury he suffered in 2021, but he finished strong with a T8 at Bangkok and a win at the final regular LIV tournament in Jeddah.

Look for Koepka to make his presence felt in a big way when the 2023 season gets going—particularly at the major championships.

Phil (No. 38—27.6 Rating)

Mickelson’s LIV season was not memorable to say the least, but he showed signs of the old Phil with a T8 at Rich Harvest in Chicago and a T15 in Bangkok.

While the media swarm undoubtedly took a toll in 2022, look for Phil to shake it off and come out strong at the first LIV event in February (Mayakoba).

Should Phil win at Mayakoba, it will be difficult for the powers that be at Augusta National to keep him out again (although they did it last year when he was the reigning PGA champion).

Team Championship-Miami

Dustin Johnson, Pat Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez (the Aces) took home the team championship at Trump National Doral with a composite score of -7, one shot clear of Punch GC (Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Wade Ormsby).

Smash GC (Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak, Peter Uhlein and Chase Koepka) finished a distant third with a composite score of +4.

**Mayakoba: Greg Norman Design, Mexico**

2023 Upcoming LIV Schedule

Mayakoba El Camaleon, Mexico (February 23-26)

Adelaide The Grange Golf Club, Australia (April 21-23)

Singapore Sentosa Golf Club (April 28-30)

Valderrama Real Club, Spain (June 30-July 2)

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World Rank Top 30: The Changing Face of Golf

April 21, 2022

There are seven players among the top 30 in the world golf rankings who have yet to hit their 26^th birthday. Everyone is buzzing about 25-year-old Scottie Scheffler after his dominant victory at The Masters. And Collin Morikawa (also 25), with 5 tour wins including two major championships, lived up to everyone’s expectations by closing with a brilliant final round 67 to record a Top 5. But the next big story may well come from one of the three youngest members of this talented group. Sungjae Im, who just turned 24, has accumulated 24 Top 10 finishes in his early career, the same number as Morikawa and one more than Scheffler. Also keep a sharp eye on Victor Hoveland and Joaquin Niemann. Niemann, the youngest of the group at 23, has recorded 20 Top 10’s including a pair of wins. Hoveland, at 24, has notched 3 wins on tour with 12 additional Top 10’s, and has made the cut in 54 of his 60 Tour starts (90%), a figure that surpasses even Morikawa (89%). So, who are these guys? Flying under the radar, they each learned the game abroad, and followed different paths on their journey to the PGA Tour—but don’t be too surprised if one of them suddenly jumps up and flashes across your screen on Sunday next month at the PGA Championship.

Sungjae Im (Age 24/No. 19 in the World Rankings)

Sungjae Im grew up in South Korea. Both of his parents were avid golfers, so he became interested in the game as soon as he could walk and started hitting balls at 4 years old. Sungjae had the gift, so he attended the Korea National Sport University and was named to the South Korean National team in 2014 at 16 years old. In 2015, he received an exemption to play an event on the Japan Tour, and shortly thereafter turned pro. In 2017, at 18 years old, Sungjae played a full year on the Japan Tour and made the most of it, finishing among the top 15 on the money list—which gained him eligibility for the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour season. Blazing right out of the blocks, Sungjae won the first tournament he entered, finished second the following week, and ended the year at No.1 on the Korn Ferry money list while taking home Player of the Year honors—which qualified him for the 2019 PGA Tour season. Talk about a fast track.

Once again Sungjae jumped on his opportunity, entering 35 Tour events while making the cut in 26 of them. He recorded 7 Top 10’s, including a T4 in his first event (The Safeway Open), T3 at Bay Hill and a T4 at the Valspar, culminating in a trip to the Tour Championship. In 2020 he had to back it down to 26 events (due to COVID cancellations), but made the cut in 21 of them while recording his first Tour win (The Honda), and tacked on 6 additional Top 10’s—once again getting to the Tour Championship, where he finished 11^th.

In 2021 Sungjae ramped back up to 35 Tour events, and made the cut 29 times. His win at the Honda got him into the Masters, and again he made the most of it by finishing in a tie for second behind Dustin Johnson. He then added a T5 at the Tournament of Champions, a 3^rd at the BMW, and his third consecutive trip to the Tour Championship.

As the 2022 season rolls through the Spring, Sungjae shows no sign of slowing down. He’s entered 15 events and made the cut in 13 of them, adding his second win (The Shriner’s) and 4 additional Top 10’s-including a T8 at the Masters. With his foot pressed firmly on the gas, Sungjae Im seems determined to add a major championship to his resume in the near future—and based on what he has done thus far, I would not bet against him.

Joaquin Niemann (Age 23/N0. 16 in the World Rankings)

Joaquin Niemann was born in Santiago, Chile, and he’s the youngest of this stellar group. Like Sungjae Im, Joaquin was swinging a club from the time he could walk (his father gave him a plastic club when he was two years old). Athletics in general was integral to the Niemann family (his mom was a member of the Chilean National Field hockey Team, and his dad played college basketball), but for Joaquin it was always all about golf. He attended a high school for athletes, and the golf program provided him the opportunity to compete in Junior golf championships all over the world—and he won a boatload of them. At 18 years old, Joaquin became the No. 1 ranked amateur in world, and held that position for 48 weeks before turning pro to compete at the Valero Texas Open—where at 19 years old he finished 6^th. He entered 11 more events in the 2018 season, making the cut in 9 of them (including 4 Top 10’s) while earning his tour card in record time. In the 2019 season, still only 19 and sporting braces, Joaquin played 28 events—and made the cut 21 times while adding 4 more top 10’s. The following year Joaquin recorded his first Tour win at The Greenbrier (by a whopping 6 shots), joining Tiger, Phil, Rory and Jordan Spieth among the short list of players to win before their 21^st birthday. He then added 4 more Top 10’s, including a T5 at the Heritage, a T3 at the BMW, and a trip to the Tour Championship.

2021 was a breakout season for Niemann. He made the cut in 26 of the 27 Tour events he entered, and recorded 5 Top 10’s, including 3 runner-up finishes (The Tournament of Champions, Sony Open and Rocket Mortgage), while making it to the Tour Championship once again.

The 2022 season is shaping up to be another big year for Joaquin, recording his second Tour victory (The Genesis Invitational) with 2 additional Top 10’s (a T5 at Mayakoba and a T6 at The Farmers). Currently at No. 13 in the FedEx Cup standings, look for Niemann to challenge at the majors this year—and perhaps the PGA Championship will be his biggest moment yet.

Viktor Hoveland (Age 24/No. 5 in the World Rankings)

Born and raised in Oslo Norway, Viktor Hoveland first gained notoriety by winning the Norwegian Amateur in 2014 at the age of 16. He then brought his talent to the U.S., accepting a golf scholarship to Oklahoma State University, where he was named a first team All-American in his sophomore year. In 2018, Viktor won the U.S. Amateur Championship, and became the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world in April of 2019. As the Amateur champ, Hovland gained entrance to the 2019 Masters, making the cut and finishing as low amateur (3 under par). He also competed at the 2019 U.S. Open as an amateur, opening eyes with a T12 at Pebble Beach. Following the Open, Viktor turned pro and made six starts in the remaining 2019 season—making the cut in all six and closing with a T4 at the Wyndham.

In 2020 (his first full year on Tour), Viktor recorded an early win at the Puerto Rico Open—only his sixteenth professional start. He then added 2 more Top 10’s, including a 3^rd at the Workday Charity Open, and capped it off by getting to the Tour Championship. In the 2021 season Hoveland recorded his second Tour win (The Mayakoba Classic), and made the cut in 22 of 24 events he played with six additional Top 10’s, including 2 runner-up finishes, 2 T3’s and a T5 at the Tour Championship.

This year Viktor has been even more impressive with another win (back-to-back at Mayakoba), 10 of 11 cuts made, and 3 more Top 10’s including a T2 at Bay Hill. Currently at No. 7 in the FedEx Cup standings, and ninth on Tour in scoring average, Viktor Hoveland is primed for an assault on the majors—and it would be hard to find a nicer young man to pull for.

As the Tour continues to take on an international flavor, these three talented young men who hail from the far corners of the world are changing the face of golf—and fans will enjoy their thrilling play for many years to come.

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