Joaquin Niemann shrugs off ‘disappointment’ after losing the LIV Golf Championship to rival

Jon Rahm won the 2024 LIV Golf Chicago at Bolingbrook on Sunday (September 15) and beat Joaquin Niemann to the circuit’s season-long Individual Championship. The Spaniard shot 4-under 66 in the final round to finish with a three-stroke advantage over the Chilean, who shared T2 with Sergio Garcia.

Despite just missing out on the top prize, the 25-year-old isn’t disappointed. The two-time PGA tour winner claimed he was “pretty happy” to finish second after ‘giving it everything.’ The golfer, who had strong odds to win at Chicago, said his season performance felt like a win.

Speaking to reporters after his LIV Golf Championship loss, Joaquin Niemann said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:

“Yeah, I'm pretty happy. I was telling my caddie that I don't feel any disappointment. I feel like I gave it everything that I had. It didn't feel like I gave a shot away the whole season. Yeah, that for me is a win.”

For the unversed, Rahm bagged the winner’s paycheck of $4,000,000 along with the whopping $18,000,000 bonus payout for the Championship victory. Meanwhile, Niemann got $1,875,000 for the Chicago event and $8,000,000 for a runner-up finish in the season-long points table.

Niemann reflected on his own season and lauded the consistency he showcased. The Torque GC skipper dubbed Sunday one of the two bad finishes he had all season, after LIV Houston, and said the difference between him and the champion was ‘almost nothing.’

He added:

“I think in golf, it's key to have that consistency. I feel like I was up there almost every week. Probably had two finishes that I didn't do that well. I feel like if I look back to Houston, I had a pretty bad finish on Sunday. It was kind of my week where I could have had some advantage.

"But I tried my best at that time, and it wasn't good enough. But I feel like the difference is almost nothing. Anytime it's going to go my way. I'm sure it's going to happen.”

Joaquin Niemann went on to state that he is eyeing the team championship in Miami next weekend. The Torque GC captain said it’ll be a “kind of revenge” to win the big prize.

Joaquin Niemann’s 2024 season

Joaquin Niemann had a stellar season with a strong showing across multiple LIV Golf events. The ace golfer managed multiple top finishes, including a win at LIV Golf Mayakoba and LIV Golf Jeddah. He had notable T2 finishes at LIV Golf UK and in Chicago.

His 10 top-10 finishes were complemented by a strong T9 showing at the Olympic Men's Golf Competition at Le Golf National. However, Niemann fell short at all the Major championships he participated in this season.

Listed below is the breakdown of Joaquin Niemann’s 2024 season:

LIV Golf Events:

LIV Golf Mayakoba (El Camaleón Golf Course at Mayakoba) – 1
LIV Golf Las Vegas (Las Vegas Country Club) – T30
LIV Golf Jeddah (Royal Greens G&CC) – 1
LIV Golf Hong Kong (Hong Kong Country Club) – T4
LIV Golf Miami (Trump National Doral Golf Course) – T9
LIV Golf Adelaide (The Grange Golf Club) – T3
LIV Golf Singapore (Sentosa Golf Club - Serapong Course) – T7
LIV Golf Houston (Golf Club of Houston) – T32
LIV Golf Nashville (The Grove) – T3
LIV Golf Andalucía (Real Club Valderrama) – T6
LIV Golf United Kingdom (JCB Golf and Country Club) – T2
LIV Golf Greenbrier (The Old White Course) – T15
LIV Golf Chicago (Bolingbrook Golf Club) – T2

Olympic Men's Golf Tournament:

Olympic Men's Golf Competition (Le Golf National) – T9

Majors:

Masters Tournament (Augusta National Golf Club) – T22
PGA Championship (Valhalla Golf Club) – T39
The Open (Royal Troon Golf Course) – T58

Joaquin Niemann will return next week for the LIV Golf Team Championship in Dallas where his Torque side will challenge Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC and Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII for the top prize.