LIV Golf winner jumps 50 world ranking spots after ideal Asian Tour return

LIV golfer Joaquin Niemann recently won the PIF Saudi International event on the Asian Tour, which has helped to make a remarkable jump in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). The Chilean golfer has been impressive on the Saudi Circuit, concluding the third season as the runner-up in the standings. However, despite that, there was no significant increase in his world ranking because he has been playing in LIV Golf events, which do not guarantee any ranking points.

Nonetheless, Joaquin Niemann also played in some OWGR ranking events this year and won the PIF Saudi International, which concluded with its finale on Saturday, December 7. His impressive victory helped him make a considerable jump on the OWGR. He was ranked 124th before the tournament, and after winning, he jumped 50 positions, taking the 74th spot in the standings.

Joaquin Niemann enjoyed quite an amazing season on LIV Golf in 2024. He started his campaign on the Saudi Circuit with a victory at the Mayakoba event and then won the second event in Jeddah.

In addition to two marvelous victories, Niemann recorded some decent finishes, including T3 at Adelaide, T3 in Nashville, T2 at the United Kingdom, and T2 in Chicago. Aside from LIV Golf, he also played in DP World Tour events and also in the Majors. He won the ISPS Handa Australian Open last year and settled for T7 at the 2024 DP World Tour Championship.

In the Majors, however, he had some decent finishes, such as T22 at the Masters, T39 at the PGA Championship, and T58 at the Open Championship.

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"I feel like I deserve it" - Joaquin Niemann on his victory at the PIF Saudi International

Niemann put forward a remarkable performance at the 2024 PIF Saudi International Championship. He started his campaign with a solid round of 65. He played a bogey-free opening round with six birdies. After a good start, however, he struggled in the second round and shot six birdies along with two bogeys for a round of 67.

Niemann then again carded a round of 65 with five birdies, a double bogey, and an eagle on the par-5 15th hole, followed by the final round of 67 with six birdies and two bogeys. He won after defeating fellow LIV golfers Cam Smith and Caleb Surratt in a three-way playoff.

Following the victory, Joaquin Niemann opened up about his performance and said (via Mirror):

"The place where I finished in second on LIV, I really wanted to win. I feel like I worked really hard for it. I was going to say I feel like I deserve it, but you don't really deserve anything here in sports. I know that I feel like it gives me that extra motivation to come and play here for this last event of the year and make something happen."

Notably, Cam Smith and Surratt tied for second place, followed by Ben Campbell in fourth place and Tyrrell Hatton finishing in fifth.