The late great David Bowie once asked, “Rebel rebel, how could they know?”
Were LIV golfers ever categorized as “rebels?” Joaquin Niemann does not think so
Joaquin Niemann, who is defending his title at this week’s Australian Open, shut down the idea of being a “rebel.”
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
Perhaps that same question can be applied to LIV golfers, who have flocked to the Saudi-backed circuit since its inception in 2022. These players strived for more significant paydays and playing opportunities across the world. In doing so, some players, notably Phil Mickelson, hoped their decision to join LIV Golf would help reshape professional golf. Now, 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 problems within the tour’s competitive structure, media rights, and, in some cases, its grueling schedule. Other players mentioned other issues, too, but regardless of their reasoning, LIV threatened the PGA’s very existence and divided the sport across two circuits.
Yet, 26-year-old Joaquin Niemann, who joined LIV in August 2022, believes he never rebelled against anything.
“We were never rebels,” Niemann said.
“They thought we are, or they make us believe that.”
Niemann made these comments ahead of this week’s ISPS Handa Australian Open, one of the marquee, early-season events on the DP World Tour. Niemann won this tournament last year in a playoff over Rikuya Hoshino of Japan.
“Before joining LIV, I had never played on the DP World Tour before,” Niemann explained.
“Because the calendar was super busy, I didn’t have the chance to go and play in Europe, and now that I have the opportunity to go over there and obviously also I have a chance to earn some world ranking points, and I try to get into the majors, it’s nice.”
Since players do not receive Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points at LIV Golf events, many notable LIV golfers have also competed on other circuits, such as the DP World Tour and Asian Tour. They do so to earn OWGR points, which the four major championships use to help determine their fields. It explains why Niemann played in the Australian Open last year and is back to defend his title this year. He wants to play in the four majors. His strong play in the Land Down Under in 2023, coupled with a few strong starts in early 2024, earned him a special invite to Augusta National for the 2024 Masters. He also received invites to the PGA Championship and Open Championship.
“For me, I would love to play LIV Golf and a few DP World events after,” Niemann said.
“There are some great tournaments around Europe, around the world for their countries’ Open, just like here. So yeah, it would be special to play and have a great year with great tournaments.”
Even though he disagrees, Niemann undoubtedly belongs in the “rebel” category. Without intentionally doing so, he has helped reshape the sport at its highest level, competing on every continent and working his way into the majors via unorthodox means.
A rebel, by definition, is a revolutionary, and one could say that through LIV Golf, a revolution within men’s professional golf has taken place right before our very eyes. The sport has changed dramatically over the past few years, forcing the two sides to the negotiating table. So, once the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), LIV’s beneficiary, settle on a concrete deal that reunites the sport again, all involved will have finalized the revolution.
Niemann may not like it, but he helped reshape the sport, a rebel by definition.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
