After Gut-Wrenching U.S. Open Setback, Joaquin Niemann Called ‘Disgustingly Overrated’ by Golf Community

Joaquin Niemann got into the field at the Open Championship via the Open Qualifying Series last year. He was then invited to the Masters, after which the PGA of America followed suit and gave him a special exemption to the PGA Championship. Now, however, he’s failed to get into the field at the 2024 U.S. Open, all thanks to his finish at the recent qualifiers in Jupiter, Florida.

Following his failure to do so, a tweet was shared on X mentioning the same. It talked about how many in the community believe the LIV golfer to be the world’s top-10 player while disregarding the need for him to play a qualifier. But it also pointed out how the Torque GC skipper got beaten by three amateurs, Luke Clanton, Brendan Valdes, and Thomas Ponder, in Florida, despite being dubbed by many as being in the top 20.

The 25-year-old finished at 2-under 71 alongside fellow LIV golfer Anirban Lahiri. Both of them were kicked out of the cutline owing to them being one shot less than what was required to claim the final spot. The Chilean pro had, unfortunately, suffered a late double bogey halfway through his back nine post noon, which in turn spoiled his chances to qualify.

He was beaten by the likes of Dean Burmester, the Stingers GC pro, who had also emerged victorious at the LIV Golf Miami event, and six other golfers at The Bear’s Club. The failure of the current No. 95 in the OWGR at the qualifiers led to many in the community ridiculing the professional, claiming that he isn’t one of the top golfers in the world.

Netizens forego sympathy for Joaquin Niemann

The 2024 season of LIV Golf has its players competing in 14 tournaments, while the PGA Tour has a total of 36 events, excluding the major championships. Moreover, for each of the contests in the Saudi-backed league, every golfer is guaranteed a payout owing to them being no-cut events, while most of the tournaments in the Jay Monahan-led circuit, except some of the elevated ones, have a cut after 36 holes. A follower hinted at the same when they commented, “I have said from the beginning of LIV that the player’s ‘game’ would slowly degrade with 1) guaranteed money and lower incentive to train/practice 2) playing easier courses and not prepared for difficult conditions and 3) not enough tournaments to stay on an edge for the majors.”

Currently at the 95th spot in the OWGR, Joaquin Niemann had climbed as high as the 59th position after his win at the ISPS Handa Australian Open, after which he slowly fell through the rankings. On the other hand, he was able to rake in two wins along with four other top-10 finishes, thereby allowing him to claim the top spot in the season-long leaderboard in LIV Golf while boasting 134.4 points. This was, however, not enough for a follower to dub him as one of the best, as they responded, “I am not sure anyone puts him as a top 25 golfer. We need to acknowledge that anything a player does in LIV counts for nothing whatsoever.” Other users also followed suit, as they dubbed him “disgustingly overrated,” while another one exclaimed, “No way in hell is he a top 20 player in the world.”

Although many were against the Chilean pro being dubbed a top athlete in the sport, a few did come forward to extend their support for the LIV Golf Pro: “Sadly people won’t see it this way, but what we’re looking at here is proof of how talented even the amateur level of golf is and how difficult it is to play your absolute best golf every single day even if you’re one of the best players in the world.” Such a response doesn’t come off as a surprise. Niemann’s recent accomplishments on the DP World Tour and LIV Golf are particularly noteworthy. A T5 finish at the Fortinet Australian Open, a victory at the ISPS Handa Australian Open, and two top-5 finishes at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and International Series Oman, not to mention his LIV Golf accolades, paint a clear picture of how talented Niemann is as a golfer.

The 25-year-old will have to stand aside and watch while the U.S. Open kicks off on June 13th at Pinehurst. Despite the setback, he will undoubtedly aim to win the fourth and final major of the season, the Open Championship, at Royal Troon in July!