“It is pretty unfair right now” - Joaquin Niemann states LIV Golf’s OWGR snub as reason to play on the DP World Tour this week

Joaquin Niemann is back on the DP World Tour this week. The Chilean golfer is set to tee off at the 2024 Hero Dubai Desert Classic this weekend alongside the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood. Niemann has now come out to state that the Saudi-backed series’ Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) situations have led him back to the European tour.

The LIV Golfer said that the current situation is “pretty unfair.”

For the unversed, LIV Golf doesn’t provide OWGR points. The breakaway tour’s latest application for recognition was rejected by the ranking officials in October. This was done due to the circuit's 54-hole no-cut format.

While the move was accepted by many, Niemann is unhappy. Speaking ahead of the outing in Dubai, the 25-year-old said it “isn’t right” that he has to play on the European circuit to qualify for the Masters.

Joaquin Niemann said, as quoted by Mirror Sport:

"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… I don’t really need to play other tours; the only reason 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."

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Joaquin Niemann calls for rule-change to bring more LIV Golfers to majors

Furthermore, Niemann called on the major tournament officials to integrate more LIV Golf players into competitions. The Chilean golfer stated that it was their job to ensure “the best players in the world” were at the majors.

He added:

"Right now, it is all about the best players and right now I think I am one of those, I have got to be in those majors. Obviously, I took the decision to come to LIV and I knew it was going to be hard to get into the majors because of it, but I think now they have to find a way to get us in, that is why I am trying to play more tournaments than just LIV Golf."

It is pertinent to note that Joaquin Niemann made the switch to LIV Golf in 2022. The golfer was one of the hottest prospects on the PGA Tour when he decided to jump ship and had even tasted being in the top 20 in the world by then. However, he drifted down the rankings as LIV continued without OWGR points.

Niemann went from 15th, his best-ever ranking, to 87th in the world. The Chilean fought back in December by winning the Australian Open, an event co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia. He earned some ranking points with the win and is currently 70th on the list.

The Torque GC captain also earned himself a spot in this year's Open Championship.