Joaco Niemann has once again proven that he is the best amphibious golfer in LIV Golf. He moves just as well within the Saudi aquarium, fighting for the individual ranking until the last hole with Jon Rahm, as when he steps onto solid ground and competes in tournaments that count towards the world ranking. The Chilean claimed victory this Saturday at the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, the last tournament of the year on the Asian Tour calendar. Additionally, he won the ranking of the International Series, which means there will be no promotion from this circuit to LIV Golf, since Niemann, as everyone knows, is a member of the Arab league as captain of the Torque and the spot is not up for grabs.
Niemann achieved a spectacular double in a thrilling finale. On the 72nd hole at the Riyadh Golf Club, up to three different golfers could still win the tournament, and no less than four could clinch the ranking. The tournament victory seemed for a long time to be a matter of two, Niemann and Caleb Surratt, but two unexpected bogeys from both on the 18th hole brought Cameron Smith into the equation for the win, who had finished more than an hour earlier with a great round of 62 strokes and had set a score of -21 that seemed insufficient. So much so that the Australian watched the finale completely relaxed in the clubhouse restaurant of the Saudi course, chatting with Matt Jones and part of his team.
The end was quite dramatic. Niemann should have comfortably won the tournament, but he got himself into trouble. First, he missed a very short birdie putt on the 16th hole to go to -23, one ahead of Surratt and two ahead of Smith. Then, the 18th hole of the regular tournament was a disaster. Surratt sent it into the water off the tee with a very bad open ball. Immediately after, Niemann hit a poor shot into some small desert bushes. The ball was playable, just on the edge, but very poorly positioned. Surratt struggled and managed a great bogey, while Niemann, who could barely advance a few metres with his second shot, did wonderfully on the third and left himself a one-metre putt to win the tournament. He missed it again…
In the midst of this crazy battle, Peter Uihlein, the big loser of the day, and Ben Campbell, the only one who could really promote to LIV Golf by winning the International Series ranking, were on edge with what was happening. Both could still win the order of merit on that 72nd hole. Campbell needed a double bogey from Surratt, which wasn’t far off, and a playoff between Smith and Niemann with a win for the Australian, which also wasn’t far off. Meanwhile, Uihlein needed a three-way playoff, which happened, and a win for Smith, which didn’t happen by a miracle. More excitement was impossible.
With Surratt’s bogey, Campbell was ruled out for the ranking, but Surratt could still win it if he won the tournament, Niemann by also winning the tournament, and Uihlein with a Smith victory. Incredible. The three men in the playoff, Niemann, Surratt, and Smith, played the first playoff hole superbly and made three great birdies. No putt was more than a metre and a half. On the second attempt, Niemann came out on top. Surratt missed a putt of about three and a half metres, while Smith missed a short one of just under two metres. Niemann, who had left it half a metre away again, sank it and took the double: tournament and International Series ranking.
It is Niemann’s third victory this year. He adds it to the ones achieved in the LIV tournaments in Mayakoba and Jeddah in February and March. Additionally, he continues to take advantage of every opportunity he has to climb positions in the world ranking and, incidentally, keeps attracting attention to receive invitations for the Majors, as happened to him in the Masters this year. With this victory on the Asian Tour, Joaco will be around the 75th place in the world ranking, with even a chance to qualify for the Masters on his own if he can play well in the early tournaments of 2025 on the DP World Tour, especially the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
Campbell missed out on the International Series, but he has certainly caught the attention of anyone with a spot in their LIV team and doesn’t know how to fill it. The Australian finished fourth alone in the tournament and has performed well every time he has had to act as a reserve on the Saudi circuit, once replacing Jon Rahm. Meanwhile, Uihlein, who had the ranking victory in his hands and lost it with a very poor final round of 74 strokes, at least takes the victory in the Asian Tour order of merit.
As for the Spaniards, another great performance from Eugenio López Chacarra (-17). The Madrid native finished with a round of 65 strokes, the best of the week, with seven birdies and a lone bogey, and finished in sixth place. It is his second consecutive top 6, after finishing fifth in Qatar last week. He continues to shine with his performances while waiting to convince a LIV team for his signing. Otherwise, next week he will face the challenge of the LIV School in Abu Dhabi. Anything can happen, but there is no doubt that he arrives in good form. However, only the champion gets the spot in LIV.
On the other hand, Luis Masaveu (-9) did not have a good finish. He delivered a par card and lost many positions in the standings. He fell to 50th place. In any case, the balance of the two consecutive weeks in Asia has to be good for the young Madrid golfer. He made both cuts and in both weeks he was among the top positions.
Finally, also noteworthy is the sixth place of the young amateur from Morocco, Adam Bresnu (-17), who is still studying in the United States. He left his calling card in Saudi Arabia.
