Joaquin Niemann split with both his caddie and coach after missing the cut at The Open Championship, and the LIV Golf man has bounced straight back to form this week
Joaquin Niemann leads the way at JCB(Image: Getty Images)
Joaquin Niemann’s dominance on the LIV Golf circuit has continued this weekend after taking a six shot lead into Sunday’s final round of LIV UK.
Coming off a missed cut at The Open Championship last week, Niemann will have been looking to bounce back at JCB Golf and Country Club, and he has done exactly that. The Torque GC captain followed an opening six-under-par 66 by going one better with a 64 on Saturday.
This leaves Niemann at 13-under-par for the event, six ahead of Bubba Watson, who is in second. In between his missed cut last Friday and his trip to JCB this week, the Chilean has made a number of changes.
Most notably, he parted ways with his long-time caddie, Gary Matthews, and his coach, Eduardo Miquel. The change will have come as a shock to many, despite the Chilean failing to make an impression at the final major championship of the season at Royal Portrush.
Speaking on his team switch-up after his second round on Saturday, Niemann said: “I’d say it’s been a little weird the last two, three weeks.
“There have obviously been a few movements on my team. At the same time, it is what it is. I’m really grateful for them, for the two people that they are not working with me anymore on the team, but it’s part of it.
“I feel like I was pretty frustrated at the beginning of this week after a bad result, obviously, at The Open as well, and all the rest kind of going on. I feel like — not low, but I wasn’t — like going on the golf course going into this week, I wasn’t feeling that confident at all.
.@joaconiemann placed this shot to perfection to set up the birdie 😳
He leads by 6 👏
🇬🇧 Watch on @ITVX
🇺🇸 Watch on @fs1 #LIVGolfUK @torquegc_ pic.twitter.com/5bXU25LDoz— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) July 26, 2025
“I think it was just keep doing the same work that I’m used to and keep working with my team and why we work every time, stay positive with myself.”
Niemann has been a cut above the rest on the LIV circuit, having won four events in nine starts this campaign. He is now closing in on a fifth in the UK, which would once again see him sweep the $4 million top prize on offer at every LIV event.
Having made just one bogey across his opening six holes, Niemann’s changes behind the scenes do not seem to have hampered him one bit in his quest to become the league’s individual champion for 2025 ahead of Jon Rahm.
His mind, for now, though, is firmly on the task at hand tomorrow. “I feel like all I’m thinking about right now is what I’m doing right now, having a great time out on the golf course right now,” he added.
“I’ve been playing great. I’ve been hitting my shots. I’ve been hitting my lines on the putter. They’ve been going in. All I’m worried about is that, and I’m going to keep being worried about that, and I think everything else is just going to take care of it.”