05 February 2024 , 17:20
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PGA Tour star Michael Kim saw the funny side of Joaquin Niemann's frustrations towards the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) after his nail-biting win at LIV Mayakoba.
Niemann became an individual winner on the LIV circuit for the very first time following Sunday's dramatic final round, beating Sergio Garcia in near-darkness following a tense four-hole playoff. In winning, the Chilean banked an eye-watering £3.2 million ($4m) in prize money.
It was not all positive for the 25-year-old though, who failed to rack up any world ranking points following his victory in Mexico amid LIV Golf's wait for recognition from OWGR.
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Niemann has announced himself as one of the world's top players in recent years, but his decision to make the Saudi switch has seen him tumble down the rankings. This has hugely damaged his chances to compete this year's majors, with the Chilean eligible for just one of the four flagship events after booking an Open place following a win in Australia last December.
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In the aftermath of his victory last weekend, Niemann's frustrations at his lack of major eligibility was clear to see. Ahead of his post-tournament interview, the Torque GC captain was heard claiming, "But I am not in the majors."
The talking point was then brought up live on air, with Niemann claiming he 'hoped' his victory had caught the attention of the relevant bodies in charge of major championships in a bid to earn an invite. Then asked what his goals for the rest of the season were, the youngster added: "I mean I want to win majors but I've got to get in first!"
Clearly seeing the funny side to Niemann's claim, PGA Tour member, Kim simply responded on X: "Lol." This is not the first time Niemann has made his feelings clear on the ongoing LIV-world ranking saga, having turned his attention to the DP World Tour for last month's Hero Dubai Desert Classic in a bid to gain some points.
Ahead of his outing in the Middle East, the Torque skipper outlined the key reasoning by a return to the DP World Tour was to earn a spot at this year's Masters. He told 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 want to be at the majors and I think the easiest path is to go and play Dubai."