Joaquín Niemann won the Australian Open two weeks ago and was given a fourteen-day period to decide whether to become a member of the DP World Tour. Before the stipulated time was up, the Chilean golfer communicated to the European circuit his intention to register. His main goal for 2024 is to play the four Majors and he needs to add to the world ranking to return to the top 50 in the world.
As long as he is not exempt from the Majors by another criterion, it is the only possible way and for that he needs to play tournaments that add points for the world ranking, something that is not currently happening in LIV Golf, his main circuit. Therefore, his idea in 2024 is to play everything that is in his hands both in the DP World Tour and in the Asian Tour to achieve this goal.
Niemann was not a member of the DP World Tour when he played the Australian Open, but he was able to enter because this event, shared with the Australian circuit, offered places to all players in the top 100 worldwide. In addition, before playing he had to pay the fines he had pending with the DP World. However, once he won the tournament, he was given the possibility of becoming a member of the European circuit with the category of winner, which gives him access to play the full calendar.
Niemann has become a member and that is why he already appears in the Race to Dubai. In the same situation were the South African Dean Burmester or Louis Oosthuizen himself, winners of two tournaments each in the last month. However, for now, both Burmester and Oosthuizen have declined the possibility of being members of the European circuit. Oosthuizen because he is being consistent with the decision he made from minute one that he decided to go to LIV and deregistered from the circuit, while Burmester, apparently, has more to do with the sanctions he has pending with the DP World Tour.
The question now is what situation Niemann is in as a member of the DP World Tour if, at the same time, he is going to continue playing in LIV Golf. His decision is to maintain European membership and face the sanctions that are being produced with the aim of playing the Majors. At the moment, he only has the Open Championship secured through his performance in the Australian Open (it offered three places to the top three in the non-exempt ranking). In addition, the PGA Championship, where the top 100 in the world enter, is quite on track, since he occupies position number 62, although no one can guarantee that he will remain among the top 100 if he does not score from here to May. Also, he would need to stay in the top 60 to play the US Open without having to play it in a previous one, and enter the top 50 before April to access the Masters.
In this sense, it was very surprising that Joaco did not play the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, a tournament that reserved a place for the reigning champion of the Australian Open. If he had played it and won, which is not so simple, he would have had some chance of finishing the year among the top 50 and would have already entered the Masters by right.
As it stands, although there has been no official information on the matter, neither from the DP World Tour nor from the player’s own environment, it is understood that his absence from the Mauritius tournament is due to some sanction imposed by the European circuit for his participation in LIV tournaments being an affiliated member of the DP World. What is not known, because this information has not been provided, is what this sanction consists of and how many tournaments it affects. Depending on this, we would already know what Niemann’s next tournament could be on the European circuit. For example, if the sanction had already been completed, we could see him in the Dubai Invitational, the new Pro Am format tournament that will be played from January 11 to 14, or perhaps in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the first Rolex Series of the season. On the contrary, if the sanction contemplates more tournaments, it is possible that we will take longer to see him in action.
Be that as it may, the reality is that Niemann has become a member of the DP World Tour with the intention of playing some tournaments in 2024. In addition to the main reason for the Majors, the Chilean was delighted with the experience in Australia and would like to play more tournaments, in addition to LIV Golf, around the world. He wants to be a more global player. As for a future of possible sanctions in the European circuit, we will also have to see what happens with the negotiation between the PGA Tour and PIF to know how everything ends.
