Golf star Joaquin Niemann has opened up about his ambition to compete in a season that weaves together tournaments from LIV Golf, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. The Chilean ace left the PGA Tour for the lucrative LIV circuit in 2022, resulting in a ban from the established tour.
Despite this, Niemann hasn't missed a beat, second only to Jon Rahm on the new tour in 2024 and still starring on the DP World Tour as he gears up to defend his Australian Open crown at Kingston Heath.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, Niemann shared his views with Fox Sports Australia on the possibility of straddling all three tours amidst discussions aimed at healing rifts in the world of golf.
While insisting he's not dependent on returning to the PGA Tour, the tantalising prospect of mixing it up across the board intrigues him. "To be honest, I don't think there's many people that would want to play all over the world," Niemann stated.
"They just want to play on LIV and that's it, and there's a few guys who probably just want to play on the PGA Tour and that's it. For me, if I don't play on the PGA Tour, I don't think it would really hurt me a lot but I would like to play more."
Related articles
His ideal scenario includes dabbling in PGA Tour events as well.
As a leader in his new golf territory, Niemann asserted: "Ideally it would be awesome to play PGA Tour events. As captain of my team, Torque, I am playing LIV Golf and I would love to play those 14 events as well as a few events I love from the PGA Tour."
The 2022 Genesis Invitational winner Niemann, excited about his return to the tournament hosted by Tiger Woods, expressed his eagerness, saying: "I love Riviera [host of the Genesis Invitational], The Players and if I could pick three or four events from the PGA Tour and play those, and then a few others on the DP World Tour, I would love to."
He detailed his ideal schedule, melding appearances at LIV Golf with premier DP World Tour and major championship play: "Playing on LIV Golf and having the DP World Tour around - I played the Rolex series for the first time – was awesome, and if I can play those plus a few other events and the majors, I am happy."
Niemann, who won at the Australian event last November, returned to the DP World Tour in January, tying for fourth at the Dubai Desert Classic. His sterling form continued with two wins out of the first three LIV events, securing an invite to the prestigious Masters tournament.
In 2024, Niemann competed in three of the four majors, save for the US Open, and represented Chile at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Rounding off his year with a runner-up finish in the LIV's individual standings, he revisited the DP World Tour for the final showdowns in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, concluding the season 25th on the Order of Merit leaderboard.
This article first appeared on Mirror US.
