Niemann's 7-iron from fairway bunker speaks volumes about major aspirations

SINGAPORE – Joaquin Niemann stood in the fairway bunker on the left side of the 12th hole Sunday, the front-left pin 164 yards away. His lead at the time was a healthy six shots, although defending champion Brooks Koepka was making enough noise to keep things interesting.

Even so, LIV Golf Singapore presented by Aramco was in Niemann’s hands now – provided he didn’t stumble. But now he faced a shot fraught with trouble, a shot that might open the door for his chasers. A shot that the Torque GC captain would later call the “one of the toughest” of his round.

Fairway bunker shots are a challenge for any golfer, but for Niemann, they’ve been particularly daunting during his career. “He’s never been the greatest long-iron bunker player,” says his veteran caddie Gary Matthews, and Niemann doesn’t disagree.

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But the 26-year-old Chilean has worked hard in recent years to eliminate weaknesses in his game, to turn uncomfortable shots into defining moments. Here was his chance.

The lip of the bunker jutted in on his right, eliminating a direct path to the pin. Forced to hit a cut, Niemann would ordinarily open his feet and shoulders, and line up slightly left. In bunkers, though, he’s learned to do the opposite, aiming his hips and feet to the right in order to cover the ball and secure better contact.

Next, there was club choice, either a 7- or 8-iron. Matthews didn’t hesitate. “Perfect 7-iron if you’re cutting it,” he told Niemann.

Niemann swung … and the shot was perfect. The ball landed softly on the green and rolled just past the pin, settling 4 feet away for an easy birdie to extend his lead and leave no doubt about the outcome. Niemann climbed out of the bunker, a big smile crossing his face.

“Best shot of the week for me,” Niemann recalled in the aftermath of win. “… Bunker shots have been a struggle for me my first couple of years. Now I feel great about it.”

For Matthews, the shot was more than just a great approach. It epitomizes just how far Niemann has developed as a golfer, the constant expansion of his skills set, broadening and refining his game.

“You know, he could have hit the lip on 12 and made double,” Matthews said, “but he ends up making birdie, and it seemed like an easy golf shot to him, which over the years hadn't been.”

Indeed, Niemann seems to be making the game look easy, which is why the wins are piling up. In the last 16 months, he’s won four LIV Golf titles (over a 17-tournament stretch) and also the Australian Open and PIF Saudi International. He finished second to Jon Rahm in the season-long LIV Golf Individual Championship last season, and now he leads the points standing through the first four events in 2025.

The debate used to be whether Niemann belongs among the game’s best active players. Now, with his wins in Adelaide last month and Singapore on Sunday, the question becomes: How high does he rank?

Unprompted, Matthews made his stance known.

“I've been caddying 25 years and I might be a little bit biased, but he's the best player in the world,” he said. “He's owning his game.

“When you can start hitting 6-irons 180 yards – that was back in the day Tiger did that and be able to float it – then you know that you're one with the ball.

“My job, it's so much easier when he's obviously in total control because we're both on the same level of knowing what's going on and what he's going to do and what shot he's going to hit because he can hit a fade, he can hit a draw at any given moment. I haven’t seen a golf swing like that, just total control.”

Matthews isn’t alone in his view. HyFlyers GC Captain Phil Mickelson responded to a social media post about Niemann being a top 10 player by suggesting that maybe he is No. 1.

Fellow LIV Golf competitor Danny Lee remarked on the putting green in Singapore that when he comes back in another life, he wants to be Joaquin Niemann. Presumably to have his golf swing.

The debate can be fun, but one final hurdle remains before Niemann can truly state his strongest case.

Niemann has competed in 22 majors and his best result is a tie for 16th at the 2023 Masters. He’s yet to make serious noise in golf’s biggest tournaments, and until he does, his critics will always lean on that argument. He’s well aware of the hole in his resume. But he also offers perspective.

“I haven’t had a great result in majors. It’s something that kind of bothers me all the time,” he said. “But if I see the bigger picture – I saw an interview the other day from Greg Norman back in the day when he was World No. 1 and hadn’t won a major yet, and I liked his answer because it’s completely true. If you ask me, I’m pretty sure and pretty calm about it because I know it’s going to come. I know I’m going to win a major. It’s going to happen.

“Maybe not at the Masters in the next three weeks, but maybe yes. I have no idea. I just know it’s going to happen.”

The upcoming major season, perhaps unlike any other in his career, offers both opportunities and promise for Niemann. He’s in the best form of his career and he’s already set to play in three majors, starting with next month’s Masters. And if he maintains his status atop the LIV Golf points standings, he may also secure a spot in the U.S. Open, the only major in which he currently has no invite.

Matthews, who has been on Niemann’s bag for four years, says winning a major is a process – one that his player seems ready to complete this summer.

“The process was obviously getting his swing fine-tuned,” Matthews said. “Then the next process was making sure that he can chip the ball because his chipping was probably his weakest link of hitting the golf ball. He's got that down now.

“The confidence, the way he's managing his game – like bad shots aren't affecting him because he's chipping much better. That all bodes into major golf.

“We step up on the tee every week and want to win. I know it doesn't happen, but I would assume that he must have all the confidence in the world for Augusta National, and that golf course suits him down to the ground.”

Even if it doesn’t happen this year in Augusta or Quail Hollow or Royal Portrush – or Oakmont if he gets into the field – Niemann will not panic. His time will eventually come. As LIV Golf’s youngest captain, time remains on his side.

“All I’m worried about is how I’m going to improve and how I’m going to feel better in those tough situations,” he said. “The sooner and the more I learn from those situations, I feel like the more ready I’m going to be.

“The way my game is trending, I know it’s going to happen eventually. I’m pretty calm knowing that.”