The late great David Bowie once asked, “Rebels, rebels, how do they know that?”
Perhaps the same questions apply to LIV golfers, who have flocked to the Saudi-backed circuit since its creation in 2022. These players were striving for bigger paydays and opportunities to play around the world. In doing so, some players, most notably Phil Mickelson, hoped that their decision to join LIV Golf would help rebuild professional golf. Almost three years after LIV's first event, it would be short-sighted to think they failed to achieve that goal.
LIV players rebelled against the PGA Tour, citing issues with the tour's competitive structure, media rights and, in some cases, grueling schedules. Other players mentioned other issues, but regardless of their reasons, LIV threatened the very existence of the PGA and split the sport into two circuits.
But Joaquin Niemann, 26, who joined LIV in August 2022, believes he has never rebelled against anything.
“We were never rebels,” Neiman said.
“They thought we were, or they had us believe that.”
Niemann made the comments ahead of this week's ISPS Handa Australian Open, one of the DP World Tour's marquee early season events. Niemann won this tournament last year in a playoff against Japan's Rikuya Hoshino.
“Before joining LIV, I had never played on the DP World Tour,” Niemann explained.
“I didn't have the opportunity to go to Europe and play because my calendar was super busy, but now I have the opportunity to go to Europe and of course I have a chance to earn points for the world rankings, so I'm working hard. “It's great to be in the majors.''
Since LIV golf events do not allow players to earn Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, many prominent LIV golfers also play on other circuits such as the DP World Tour and Asian Tour. Do this to earn OWGR points. OWGR points are used by the four major championships to determine the field. This explains why Niemann played in the Australian Open last year and returned to defend his title this year. He wants to play in the four majors. His strong play at the Land Down Under in 2023 and some strong starts in early 2024 earned him a special invitation to Augusta National for the 2024 Masters. He also received invitations to the PGA Championship and the British Open Championship.
“For me, I would love to attend LIV Golf and then the next few DP World Events,” Niemann said.
“There are some great tournaments in Europe and around the world, just like here, for national Opens, so yeah, it would be special to play in a great tournament and have a great year. ”
Even if he disagrees, Neiman definitely belongs to the “rebel” category. Without doing so intentionally, he helped reshape the sport at the highest level, competing on every continent and working his way to the majors through unconventional means.
By definition, a rebel is a revolutionary, and through LIV Golf, you can say that a revolution in men's professional golf is happening right before our eyes. The sport has changed dramatically in recent years, bringing both sides to the negotiating table. So if the PGA Tour and LIV's beneficiary, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), reach a concrete agreement to reintegrate the sport, it will complete the revolution for all involved.
Nieman may not like it, but he helped reshape a sport that is by definition a rebel.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
