The man of the year in LIV Golf, which this week celebrates the Valderrama stage, is Joaquin Niemann. Before reaching the last third of the season, the 26-year-old Chilean golfer has dominated the season like no one else has done in the years of existence of the circuit. The leader of Torque, the golfer who has won the most tournaments in the history of this league, speaks by phone to MARCA on a summer afternoon before a training session postponed by a storm.
Question: With four wins in nine tournaments, which is almost 50%, a percentage that not even Tiger Woods achieved, did you imagine this result?Answer: Looking back when I got to LIV, one of my goals with Edu my coach, was to be able to dominate LIV and at first it was very difficult for me. Now that I’m getting it, I don’t feel satisfied. I feel happy, but golf is such a damn sport that it always demands you in some way to be able to improve. I know I have a lot to improve and high goals to achieve. Although it is true that it is incredible what I am achieving.
Because, in addition, he has more than 70 strokes under par in the season, a fabulous score.R. I make a lot of birdies (laughs).
You could now win on another continent at Valderrama and it would be four, having already done so in Oceania, Asia and America.
It’s something very interesting about LIV. When Greg Norman came in to push LIV he talked a lot about the world tour and winning tournaments around the world. For me being from Chile and used to traveling around the world, winning around the globe makes it even more special. That’s the beauty of LIV, that we can play in different countries, different cultures, create different audiences. It would be special to win at Valderrama. And if not win the following week, in Great Britain, after the British.
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Being born in a country without a golfing tradition, does that give more value to what you are achieving? You are a kind of Seve over there in Chile.
Chile is a country where golf has not been so developed, but always in one way or another we have had a great level, maybe not like now where we have players on the PGA Tour like Cristobal (Del Solar), to have players in Europe, in Asia, in the LIV… There are Chileans all over the world. In the end, for me, Chile has been very special and that’s why I’m where I am. I got used to playing with professionals since I was a kid. I think I have a long way to go to try to activate young people in golf and make it grow. There is more and more talent, better coaches and between Mito (Pereira) and I can push to something bigger. And for that the best thing is to keep making birdies because that takes care of everything.
Do you appreciate how much the world of golf values you? You keep getting invitations to the Majors despite being a LIV player. For your victories and for how hard you try.
In the end, all this is the product of what has happened between LIV and the PGA Tour because of the world ranking. Obviously because of the hunger to want to win majors and having to qualify by other means, going to play in Australia, where I ended up winning the Open, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, incredible tournaments traveling around the world, grabbing invitations from Europe and other places. Yes, perhaps I did things out of the ordinary to be able to achieve that. It had to happen and I’m delighted that it pushed me to do that. When I was on the PGA Tour I didn’t have that need. And now in LIV, having time in October, November, December… I’m very motivated to go to different tournaments with a lot of history, it’s been quite satisfying. I really enjoy traveling.
Is your swing natural or how was it built?
It was a bit of both. I try to make it as natural as possible, but it also requires a lot of technique. Over time, I’ve learned to separate the two. To push myself, also, technically, which employs me a lot in the weeks when I don’t have a tournament so that when the week of the event arrives I can free myself, be more natural and focus on the behavior of the ball. And also to be a better sportsman. I think it’s about balance, about knowing how to use the scales.
When people are nervous or excited, I like to convey calmness. I try to keep myself low. Maybe I’ve never been very good at showing my emotions
His elasticity is also striking
I have to thank my dad and mom who made me with a lot of love [laughs]. The truth is that I have a body that moves very well and that is important for the game and also for health. I invest many hours. It’s a lifestyle to be able to feed myself in a certain way, to exercise in a certain way. It’s my work tool, so to speak, and it’s what I like.
How are you able to control your emotions? You are not a sportsman with exaggerated gestures in victory or defeat.
Inside there is a storm, fights, mental battles. Since I was a child I have tried to transmit a certain tranquility to the environment. When I go to the field I don’t like to show feelings. When people are nervous or excited, I like to convey calmness. I try to keep myself low. Maybe I’ve never been very good at showing my emotions. Inside I enjoy it a lot and when I suffer, I really suffer.
What do you remember about your childhood?
I was lucky enough to grow up outside the city. I always liked being outdoors, playing sports. Exploring with my friends in the condominium. The typical things of children, but always outdoors. I was very happy. There weren’t many kids my age, so golf, which was a very lonely sport, I liked. At 12 or 13 years old I would go out on my own, play alone, train alone. And that was half therapeutic half introspective. And it’s something I still do. Obviously when I’m with my team (Torque) I train with them, but to come one afternoon to the golf course and go to give balls… I think there are few things that I enjoy more than that.
Does it have a lot of inner dialogue?A. All the time. Even when I’m sleeping.
I read that your first hit was at your grandmother’s barbecue when you were very young.
I had a tiny US Kids 7-iron, I think my brother still has it. While they were in front of the barbecue drinking, sitting, eating, talking… I was alone on the grounds of the house, hitting the ball, aiming as if to go inside knowing that I was not going to get there… But I hit the ball and hit my grandmother on the head. She started to bleed. I felt terrible, but it was a great shot!
When you reached the world number one amateur, was that when you realised you were truly going to be a top level golfer or was it before?
When I was number 1 in the world I was 17 years old, but more or less when I was 14 I already knew that golf was going to be the reason for my life. That’s when I changed from a traditional school where my mother lived outside the city, to the city living with my father, going to a school with athletes with few hours of classes and many hours of training and days to travel. I was number 1 in the world, I followed my path. And from there to here.
What does it bring you?
It’s easier than a 4-iron. Obviously the 4-iron is not used much. Maybe on a tee or a shot on a par 5. And having the hybrid helps me to have a higher ball trajectory, to have more spin, to be able to move it more from left to right or vice versa and to be more aggressive. Also from the rough and not very good lies it helps me a lot when you’re tight I can hit it down and the ball goes up. It’s a club that helps me a lot and I call it the 230-yard pitch.
He is known as a hard worker. Is he very interested in technology, trying out new clubs or is he not too obsessed?I’m not too bothered about it. I’m not like Bryson (DeChambeau), who’s creating his own clubs and understanding the physics of what the ball does. I try to keep it as simple as possible and I don’t change my clubs much, the lies… I don’t change my equipment much. But it helps a lot to make a good selection of equipment. Fortunately, we have a Ping representative who helps us with certain things. But I’m not crazy about this subject, although I know it helps.Your great triumph, above your victories, is the amount of money you got to cure Rafita’s disease. How was it?
This was in 2021. He is a cousin of my mother’s. I grew up with him, spent a lot of my childhood with him, he helped me since I was a kid. And his son was born with this syndrome. And it was very special because I was very young and I didn’t hesitate to donate so much money, but I had to combine the vision of helping and at the same time be focused on my golf. Obviously a lot of people in my family helped me to do things the right way and now I am very grateful.
Seeing him now that he can walk, which was something unlikely depending on how he responded to treatment and injections, I feel very good. I felt very loved by the amount of people who helped raise two million dollars. He still struggles and needs more people on top of him, but the progress has been very great
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