'There's A Little Bit Of A Crisis And Things Have To Be Fixed' - Joaquin Niemann On LIV, The Majors And Olympic Qualifying
Joaquin Niemann made a flying start to the Olympic golf competition in Paris, but still voiced his frustration at the ongoing Olympic and Major qualifying "crisis"


After an impressive start in Paris, Joaquin Niemann says an unfair Olympic qualification criteria means "you don't have the best players" playing in the event - which he says is part of a wider "crisis" in the game.
The LIV Golf member shot a five-under round of 66 at Le Golf National to sit three behind Hideki Matsuyama after his incredible 63 in the first round of the men's Olympic golf event.
Niemann has long been one of the more vocal LIV Golf players calling for either a change in the Official World Golf Ranking to include their events or a direct pathway from the team golf tour into the four Majors.
The Chilean can get an exemption into all four Majors in 2025 as part of the prize for winning the Olympic golf tournament, but feels he shouldn't have to.
As several others have insisted, Niemann does not believe all the strongest players in the world are in Paris due to the Olympic qualifying criteria - which runs off the OWGR and has a four-man limit per country.
"I don't think it's fair," Niemann said of the Olympic qualifying process. "Because you don't have the best players right now I feel like."
Niemann does add that he thinks the powers that be "will find a way" of sorting it out - but the same could be said for the ranking points saga and LIV Golf.
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Although he was one of the players who opted to play in events around the world including on the DP World Tour and Asian Tour, Niemann feels a system where he has to go chasing ranking points is one that needs fixing.
"I feel like it's what I do and I feel like right now, there's a little bit of a crisis and things that have to be fixed," he added. "I just play another week of golf and try to earn my way into the Majors, and that's what I did last year."
Joaquin Niemann with the trophy after his win in the Australian Open
He won the co-sanctioned Australian Open last December to then get into the Dubai Desert Classic, where he finished T4, and Niemann would like to play further DP World Tour events later this year - if he is welcome.
"I would love to play some DP World Tour events," he added. "I don't know if I'm going to be allowed or not, but yeah, I would love to play some events.
"If I can get some world ranking and see if I can get any spots into the Majors.
"I'm a [DP World Tour] member, yeah. I don't know if I'm a likable member but I'm a member. I'm going to try my best."
Whether Majors are on the line or not, the Olympics is a huge goal for Niemann and he's well in touch after a great start.
"If you didn't have those four Majors for a win, I would have the same intensity," he insisted. "I will have the same motivation to win. I mean, I feel like this is Olympics and got to focus more on winning medals than winning my way into the Majors."
Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.
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