Joaquín Niemann Zenteno (born 7 November 1998) is a Chilean

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who plays on the LIV Golf League. He won twice on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

, before joining LIV Golf in 2022. Prior to turning professional, he held the number one position in the

World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was introduced by The R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, on 23 January 2007. It is based on the results of over 2,600 amateur tournaments per year (and amateurs ...

from May 2017 to April 2018.

Early life and amateur career

Niemann was born in 1998 to Pamela Zenteno and Jorge Niemann. Both of his parents had athletic backgrounds; his father played

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in college, while his mother played

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for the Chilean national team. She represented Chile at the 1989 Women's Hockey Junior World Cup, and retired from the sport after her marriage at age 24. Niemann grew up with three brothers and two sisters, all of whom preferred

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

to golf. Niemann's father was a recreational golfer and introduced him to the game. Niemann stated in 2021 that he began playing golf "around two or three years-old ... I had three plastic clubs that I would carry around my house all the time." He also played soccer and competed in track and field as a child. During his youth, he was inspired by Spanish golfer Sergio García. Niemann's parents divorced when he was in eighth grade, and he moved with his father, an engineer, to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, as this was better for his golf development. He earned a scholarship at the prestigious Athletic Study Centre in Santiago, and began to play in international amateur tournaments. Niemann planned to play at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

, but he was unable to gain entry as his

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score was too low. He said in 2021 that he never studied at school, "In every class, I just waited for recess. All I ever wanted to do was play professional golf." Niemann was the number one ranked golfer in the

for 44 weeks, from May 2017 to April 2018, when he turned professional. He was awarded the 2017 Mark H. McCormack Medal for being the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at the conclusion of the summer's championship season, thus gaining entry into the 2018 U.S. Open and into the 2018 Open Championship. He won the 2018 Latin America Amateur Championship, gaining entry also into the 2018 Masters Tournament.

Professional career

After competing in the 2018 Masters Tournament as an amateur, Niemann turned professional, thus forfeiting his exemptions to the 2018 U.S. Open and Open Championship. In his first professional start, at the 2018

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, he finished 6th. He earned Special Temporary Member Status on the

for the rest of 2018 with a tied-6th finish at the

Memorial Tournament The Memorial Tournament (branded as the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, Inc., Workday for sponsorship reasons, and also referred to as simply the Memorial) is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on ...

, his third top-ten in only five starts on tour. He earned a PGA Tour card for the 2018–19 season, after a fourth top-10 finish (T5 at

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) in eight tournaments. Niemann joined Jordan Spieth (2013) and

Jon Rahm Jon Rahm Rodríguez (born 10 November 1994) is a Spanish professional golfer. He was number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a then record 60 weeks and later became world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, first achiev ...

(2016) as golfers who were able to completely bypass the Web.com Tour Finals and earn PGA Tour cards after starting the season without any status. In September 2019, Niemann won A Military Tribute at 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, Niemann played on the International team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16–14. Niemann went 0–3–1 and lost his Sunday singles match against Patrick Cantlay. In January 2021, Niemann shot a final round 64 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He joined Harris English in a playoff, but was defeated on the first extra hole. A week later, he finished T2 at the Sony Open in Hawaii; one stroke behind Kevin Na. In July 2021, Niemann shot a bogey free 18-under par for 72 holes to tie with Cameron Davis and Troy Merritt for the lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Niemann made his first bogey of the week on the first playoff hole and was eliminated. Davis was the eventual champion. In February 2022, Niemann shot rounds of 63-63-68-71, to win the Genesis Invitational hosted by

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

. He finished the tournament at 19-under par, two strokes ahead of Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young.

Move to LIV Golf

In August 2022, it was announced that Niemann had joined

LIV Golf LIV Golf ( ) is a professional men's golf tour. The name "LIV" refers to the Roman numerals for 54, the number of holes played at LIV events. The first LIV Golf Invitational Series event started on 9 June 2022, at the Centurion Club near St Alba ...

. He was subsequently named as the captain of the Torque GC team and finished runner-up in his first start, at LIV Golf Invitational Boston, losing a playoff to

Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two Men's major golf championships, major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open (golf), 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 ...

. In the 2023 LIV Golf League, his all Spanish-speaking Torque GC won more team titles (four) and collected more prize money than any other team during the regular season, before finishing 3rd in the $50 million Team Championship in Miami. In December 2023, Niemann won the ISPS Handa Australian Open, a tournament co-sanctioned by the European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia, at The Australian Golf Club in

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. He defeated Rikuya Hoshino in a sudden-death playoff. On 4 February 2024, Niemann shot a 12-under-par 59 in the first round of the LIV Golf Mayakoba in Mexico. According to Data Golf, it was the third-best score in terms of true strokes gained since 2004. In a playoff against Sergio García, Niemann won the tournament with a birdie on the fourth extra hole, for his first individual LIV Golf title. In an interview following his win at LIV Golf Mayakoba, Niemann stated his desire to win major championships, but lamented that "I've got to get in first". Three weeks later,

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta National, Augusta, or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is known for hosting the annual Masters Tournament. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Rob ...

announced that Niemann was given a special invitation to compete in the 2024

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

. In December 2024, Niemann won the season-ending PIF Saudi International on the

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, beating Cameron Smith and Caleb Surratt in a playoff. The win also saw him win the International Series Order of Merit.

Personal life

Niemann is of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

ancestry. In October 2020, Niemann's cousin Rafita Calderon was born, and soon was discovered to have

spinal muscular atrophy Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder that results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. It is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood and if left untreated it is the most common geneti ...

, a rare, life-threatening genetic disorder. To address the disorder, he required Zolgensma, a medical treatment which cost US$2.1 million. As Chile's healthcare system did not cover the treatment, Niemann donated $152,450 from his tournament earnings in November and attempted to bring awareness to the fundraising effort. He stated in February 2021 that Rafita had received the treatment and his condition had improved. Niemann thanked other golfers and companies for helping to meet the fundraising goal. In September 2023, Niemann married architect Christina Hellema in

La Serena, Chile La Serena () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, capital of the Coquimbo Region. Founded in 1544, it is the country's second oldest city after the national capital, Santiago. As of 2012, it had a ...

, after more than six years of dating.

Amateur wins

*2013 Campeonato Sudamericano Pre Juvenil, Campeonato Abierto de Golf de Temuco *2015 Junior Orange Bowl Championship, Abierto Las Brisas de Santo Domingo, IMG Academy Junior World Championships (Boys 15–17), Campeonato Juvenil de Chile, Canadian International Junior Challenge, Abierto Sport Francés *2016 Campeonato Sudamericano Juvenil, Junior Golf World Cup, IMG Academy Junior World Championships (Boys 15–17), Campeonato Juvenil de Chile, Abierto Prince of Wales Country Club, Abierto Sport Francés *2017 Abierto Las Araucarias, TaylorMade-Adidas Golf Junior at Innisbrook, Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, Campeonato Internacional de Aficionados - Mexico *2018 Latin America Amateur Championship Source:

Professional wins (19)

PGA Tour wins (2)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

European Tour wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently titled as the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf ...

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

Asian Tour wins (1)

Asian Tour playoff record (1–0)

Chilean Tour wins (9)

LIV Golf League wins (6)

LIV Golf League playoff record (1–1)

Results in major championships

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to

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Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (2020 U.S. Open – 2023 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (once)

Results in The Players Championship

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.

PGA Tour career summary

Niemann was an amateur through the 2018 Masters Tournament.

Team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

(representing Chile):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Professional *

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world except Europe as that continent competes against the United States in a similar but ...

(representing the International team):

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Niemann, Joaquin Chilean male golfers PGA Tour golfers LIV Golf players Olympic golfers for Chile Golfers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Golfers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Golfers at the 2023 Pan American Games Golfers from Jupiter, Florida Golfers from Santiago, Chile 1998 births Living people Presidents Cup competitors for International 21st-century Chilean sportsmen