Joaquin Niemann says he’s “hopeful” that LIV Golf will have secured its own route into the four men’s Majors by next year and believes the top 10 players in the standings should all qualify.
Currently, LIV Golf has no way of qualifying for the Majors with even its 2023 champion Talor Gooch playing in just one of the four this year – which was the PGA Championship via a special invite.
Niemann played in three. He received invites into The Masters and PGA Championship and qualified for The Open after winning the 2023 Australian Open. He was not able to make it into the US Open field.
“I mean, I believe that it’s going to happen. I feel like they’ve got to pull for the best of the game, and I think that’s the right way to do it, hopefully give us some spots out here on LIV and have the best players in there,” Niemann said on whether LIV will get Major spots.
“But yeah, I feel like there’s also different pathways that I can probably take to get into, but ideally it would be nice for LIV and for the game that they have some spots for us.
“I would say top 10 guys. There’s definitely 10 guys, top 10 guys here that could win Majors, and yeah, they can definitely give those 10 spots for us and have more competitive Majors.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating, but at the end, I feel like I’m pulling hard for LIV Golf to improve, and I think that would be one of the ways that the game and LIV would improve.
“From my side personally, I feel like I’m going to find a way to be in the Majors, so it doesn’t frustrate me or put me out.
“I hope so. I’m pretty optimistic. I think it will happen. I was the same way last year. I felt like we were going to do something for this year. It didn’t happen, but I found a way to get into it. I got some invitations, which was nice. I feel more optimistic for next season.”
Niemann is once again planning to compete on the DP World Tour at the end of the season to try and accumulate world ranking points and earn his way into Majors. Open spots will likely be up for grabs again at the Australian Open as well as other events, while the top 50 in the world rankings at the end of the year qualify for The Masters.
He also ranks as high as 13th in the Race to Dubai standings after his Australian Open win and a runner-up finish at the Dubai Desert Classic in January.
“If I can go and they let me play, I will definitely try to go because I feel like – obviously I would like not to go and just be on LIV and get those spots, but the only reason – if I’m able to go and play on DP World it’s because of the Majors and try to get my way in,” he said.
“If I’m free to go and play the DP World I might go and play because I’m pretty high on the rankings on the DP World. If I’m able, if they let me do it, I’ll try.”
Before that, Niemann tees it up at JCB Golf and Country Club this week in the LIV Golf League and then Le Golf National next week in the men’s Olympic golf tournament.
“I feel like it’s one of the events you play every four years, and having a gold medal on your chest I think is something really special and emotional,” he said.
“I feel like it does give you that little extra. For me it would be the fourth week in a row, going to the Olympics, but I’ll feel pretty fresh and new because we are going to play every four years, so I’m going to try to do my best there and hopefully get a good prize on Sunday.”
