LIV Golf Star Joaquin Niemann 'Proud' After Incredible Recovery From 8 On Postage Stamp
The Chilean came firing out of the blocks on Friday at Royal Troon but went on to drop five strokes on the short Postage Stamp par 3 - but his recovery was seriously impressive
Joaquin Niemann started with a superb level-par 71 on day one at Royal Troon to sit high up in the LIV Golf Open leaderboard - but one costly hole pegged him back.
The Chilean started round two with a couple of birdies in his first three holes before disaster struck at the world famous 120 yard par 3 'Postage Stamp' 8th hole.
Niemann's tee shot found the bunker to the right of the green and by the time he tapped in for an 8 he had visited three of the sand traps surrounding the small and devilish putting surface.
From two-under after 21 holes, the multiple PGA Tour and LIV Golf winner found himself four-over for the tournament just five holes later.
Joaquin Niemann experienced it all on the 8th. pic.twitter.com/D4Ma3WllkFJuly 19, 2024
There were 20 double bogeys or worse in round one at the Postage Stamp and just 51% of players hit the green in regulation despite the hole requiring just a wedge.
Niemann made a stunning comeback after the disaster on 8, going on to make four birdies in his first six holes on the back nine to miraculously get back to level par for the day. He parred in to post an impressive 71.
"It was tough, after finishing No. 8, I kind of told myself that I was playing great before that. I started really good, and I started hitting all my golf shots. One hole is not going to change that," he said.
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"So looking from back here, it's pretty easy to say, but being in that position is kind of tough. So I kind of try to tell myself and try to listen to myself and try to hack into that position that I was because it's something that everybody works on.
"You're always going to have tough holes, and you're going to try to recover out of that. That's what made me proud when I finished the round. Yeah, it was great to see that happen and shooting a good round on the back nine."
The Torque GC captain currently tops the LIV Golf money list after back-to-back wins to start the year in Mexico and Saudi Arabia. The 25-year-old, regarded as one of the game's brightest talents, earned his way into this year's championship after victory at the Australian Open late last year.
He also played in The Masters and the PGA Championship this season, finishing T22 at Augusta and T39 at Valhalla.
For such a talent, his Major record is surprisingly underwhelming with a best finish of T16 from 21 starts. He'll be hoping to go better this week, although disaster at the Postage Stamp has not done his chances any good.
"I don't think I've got to prove myself at anything. I feel like I just need to play my game and try to do my best," Niemann said on Thursday at Troon.
"I think, if I keep playing well, I'm going to obviously maybe do something. Yeah, it's just fun.
"Playing on LIV and being now here in the Majors playing against everybody together is a lot of fun. This type of golf is completely different than what we're used to, so I'm enjoying it a lot here."
Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TSR4
3 wood: Titleist TSi2
Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1
Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: Srixon Z Star XV
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