Joaquin Niemann has made a return to his former tour after OWGR rejected LIV Golf’s bid for player rankings. The golfer is currently playing at the Dubai Desert Classic to help increase his world rankings. In 2022, when Niemann switched tours, he was one of the hottest golfers with a rank within the top 20. But ever since he moved to LIV Golf, his rank has gradually declined for the worse.
Moreover, the LIV circuit was rejected by the OWGR association due to its 54-hole system and the bizarre qualification format. As far as Niemann’s rank was concerned, after he joined the Saudi-funded league, it went down to 87. But he made a comeback with the Australian Open, where he was crowned the winner. His latest OWGR rank came back under the top 60. As a result, Niemann has been invited to participate in the Open Championship. Now he’s playing on the DP World Tour so that he can participate in all four majors. Speaking about his frustration, Niemann expressed his discontent candidly in an interview.
Joaquin Niemann Talks About His Bitterness With LIV Golf
In an interview with Mirror Sport, he stated:
“It is pretty unfair right now what the world rankings shows. It says the top 100 players in the world right now, but I don’t think this is the right ranking…I am going to Dubai for the DP World [Tour] just because of [ranking] points, nothing else and to try and get into the Masters.”
The LIV golfer further revealed that his reason for playing on other tours is because of the majors.
“This is not me trying to get other players’ place because I am there, it is because the system is not working well. I want to be at the majors and I think the easiest path is to go and play Dubai. I don’t know if it is going to create drama or they are not going to like me playing on that tour, so I am going to go there, try to play well, get my points and get out of there.”
The system of LIV Golf should be changed to fit the qualifications of the OWGR. But Greg Norman and other associates look unmoved by the OWGR’s requirement list and are not catering to their choices. Niemann thinks the authorities that organize the majors should try to incorporate the best LIV golfers.
Going forward, Niemann is willing to play in more majors and thus take his rank higher. He believes his rank can be in the top golfers’ list again.
