Joaquin Niemann

While Niemann was growing up, his parents nicknamed him "Joaco." At age 2, his father gave him a plastic golf club and some balls. He played around the house until he graduated with real equipment at age 4. He remembers hitting shots in his backyard and during a family barbecue, hitting a 40-yard shot that hit his grandmother in the leg.
Niemann spent many hours at home in Santiago, Chile, practicing on the Club de Polo y Equitacion San Cristobal range. As a junior player, Niemann had a decorated career. He won a pair of IMG Academy Junior World Championship titles, having captured his age-division title in the prestigious junior event in each of his last two years. He narrowly missed out on earning a Masters berth at the Latin America Amateur Championship in 2017, losing a playoff at Club de Golf de Panama to close friend Tomas Gana. He represented Chile at the World Amateur Team Championships, made the round of 16 at both the Western Amateur and U.S. Amateur, and won three Chilean professional events. Niemann won the 2017 AJGA TaylorMade-Adidas Junior at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course, setting a tournament record and winning by eight strokes. He won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in April 2017 and the AJGA Sergio Garcia Junior. Niemann qualified for the U.S. Open at Erin Hills and finished T-29th at The Greenbrier. He was also a quarterfinalist at the Western Amateur. At the 2017 U.S. Amateur, he made match play before losing to Braden Thornberry in the round of 64.
Niemann signed a letter of intent to attend the University of South Florida. Still, he didn't score very well on the TOEFL exam, which measures a person's ability to use and understand English and is required by USF. Since he struggled with English, he decided to forego college and was on the cusp of turning professional. But when he finished the summer as the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, he won the Mark H. McCormack Medal. For winning that award, Niemann received exemptions into the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and the 2018 British Open at Carnoustie, but only if he stayed an amateur. He continued playing as an amateur and finished T-9th at the Aberto do Brasil in October. Reached the finals of the Korn Ferry Tour qualifying tournament and finished T-108th. That gave him conditional status for 2018 on the Korn Ferry Tour. Niemann likely would have had to rely heavily on Monday qualifiers or sponsor exemptions to get into fields initially. Ironically, if he had played better and earned full status, he would have turned professional and skipped the Latin America Amateur Championship.
But with the LAAC playing in his hometown of Santiago, Chile, he decided to play in one last amateur event before turning professional. Another reason for playing in his fourth LAAC: His visit to Augusta National the previous year supporting his friend Tomas Gana, who defeated him in the playoff at the LAAC in 2017. Walking the course in tennis shoes and outside the ropes, he knew that he wanted to play in the Masters. He also gained a lot of confidence in the year he had and didn't feel bad about not going to college. Niemann played great at the Prince of Wales Country Club, where he shot 74-64-72-63 for a five-shot win, so he was able to play at Augusta National, where he missed the cut.
The former No. 1-ranked amateur in the world made his professional debut at the 2018 Valero Texas Open two weeks after the Masters, finishing 6th. In his first five starts as a professional, the 19-year-old had three top-10s: 6th at the Valero Texas Open, T-8th at the Fort Worth Invitational, and T-6th at The Memorial. With that finish, he earned enough FedExCup points to gain special temporary membership onto the PGA Tour for the rest of the season. At 19 years, 6 months, 28 days, Niemann became the youngest player since Sergio Garcia in 1999 (19 years, 4 months, 29 days) to accept special temporary membership on the PGA Tour. He played in 12 PGA Tour events in 2018, making nine cuts with four top-10 finishes.
2019 Notes: Played in 28 PGA Tour events, making 21 cuts with four top-10 finishes. Was 67th in the FedExCup standings. He finished T-10th at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He returned to his home country to play in his national open on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica. Shot an opening-round 64 at the Abierto de Chile 2019 presentado por VOLVO, and then 67-71-66 to finish 3rd, three strokes back of winner John Somers. Had consecutive T-5th finishes at the Travelers Championship and Rocket Mortgage Classic. He had his third top-10 in his last four starts with a T-10th finish at the John Deere Classic. In the FedExCup Playoffs, he finished T-30th at the Northern Trust and T-31st at the BMW Championship. He made his rookie start at the Presidents Cup, where he compiled an 0-3-1 record, including a 3 & 2 singles loss to Patrick Cantlay.
2020 Notes: Played in 23 PGA Tour events, making 15 cuts with four top-10 finishes. He was 27th in the FedExCup standings. He started his season winning the first tournament, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. With his six-stroke win at the age of 20 years, 10 months, 8 days, and in his 44th start, he became the first player from Chile to win on the PGA Tour. He joined Seve Ballesteros and Rory McIlroy as the third player born outside of the United States in the last 95 years to win before turning 21. He was T-5th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, four shots out of the Thomas/Reid/Schauffele playoff. At the RBC Heritage, he finished T-5th, three strokes behind winner Webb Simpson. In the FedExCup playoffs, he missed the cut at the Northern Trust and was T-3rd at the BMW Championship, two strokes out of the Rahm/Johnson playoff. He was T-27th at the Tour Championship.
2021 Notes: Played in 27 PGA Tour events, making 26 cuts with five top-ten finishes. He was 29th in the FedExCup standings. He finished T-6th at the CJ Cup @ Shadow Creek, shooting a final-round 66. Shot a final-round 64 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions to finish tied with Harris English but lost the playoff. Next week, he was T-2nd again at the Sony Open in Hawaii, a shot back of winner Kevin Na, who played his last six holes in 4 under. He became the first with back-to-back runner-up finishes since Webb Simpson did it at the 2019 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and Wyndham Championship. He was T8th at the Valspar Championship. He held the share of the 36- and 54-hole leads at the Rocket Mortgage Classic before falling in a playoff to Cam Davis to finish T-2nd. He did not make a bogey in regulation before recording a bogey-5 at the first extra hole. He became the first player to play four rounds at a tournament without making a bogey since Andrew Putnam at the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open. He represented Chile at the Tokyo Olympic Games, finishing T-10th, a shot back of getting into the seven-man playoff for the bronze medal. In the FedExCup Playoffs, was T-47th at the Northern Trust, T-29th at the BMW Championship, and 29th at the Tour Championship.
2022 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour events, making 19 cuts with five top-ten finishes. He was T-11th in the FedExCup standings. He was T-5th at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, seven shots back of winner Viktor Hovland. Shot 67 in the final round of the Farmers Insurance to finish T-6th, two shots back of the List/Zalatoris playoff. Won The Genesis Invitational in wire-to-wire fashion, defeating Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young by two shots to earn his second career PGA Tour victory in his 101st start. Became the first player to win wire-to-wire on Tour since Nick Taylor at the 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the first to do so at The Genesis Invitational since Charlie Sifford in 1969. At 23 years, 3 months, and 13 days, he became the second-youngest winner of The Genesis Invitational (Harry Cooper/1926/21 years, 5 months, 6 days). He recorded his fourth top-10 of the season and first since claiming his second career victory at the Genesis Invitational with a T-3rd at the Memorial Tournament. He finished six shots back of the winner, Billy Horschel. In the FedExCup playoffs was T-13th at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, T-8th at the BMW Championship, and T-11th at the Tour Championship.
2023 Notes: Was T-10th at the Saudi International. He was T-5th at International Series Oman, seven shots back of winner Takumi Kanaya. He was T-16th at the Masters, missed the cut at the PGA Championship, T-32nd at the U.S. Open, and missed the cut at the British Open.