Joaquín Niemann was in the fight for victory at the LIV Golf in Virginia, although always somewhat in the background. At least, until the second rain delay of the day at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Washington. He tried everything, leaving himself birdie chances one after another, but it wasn’t enough to catch the lead. The victory seemed to be a matter for others, like Graeme McDowell, Phil Mickelson, Martin Kaymer, or Bryson DeChambeau. However, after the suspension, the Chilean achieved four consecutive birdies and took the victory. What happened during that interruption in play?
Niemann is very clear about what happened. He went into the locker room with Mito Pereira, one-on-one, and they started watching the fabulous final of Roland Garros between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannick Sinner. What the Spaniard did resonated with him. He confessed this after winning the tournament. “Honestly, I think I drew some inspiration from Carlos Alcaraz. I was watching his match and it was incredible to see how he was three match points down and managed to turn it around and win. It was something very good. I sat in the locker room alone, with Mito and my brother, and we were calmly watching Alcaraz achieve that. It was great,” he says.
As you know, Alcaraz faced three match points against him in the fourth set of the final. He overcame them, won that game, prevailed in the tie break, and won the fifth in the super tie break to claim his second consecutive Roland Garros and the fifth grand slam of his career. At just 22 years old, four less than the Chilean golfer.
That inspiration is what Niemann seeks and needs to try to win his first Major this week. It’s his big goal. He thinks of nothing else. “I always keep in mind what has happened to me in the Majors. I know there’s pressure to perform there, especially since I haven’t had good results in the majors. But I think it’s a learning process. At the end of the day, it’s still a golf tournament. Sometimes I feel a bit more uncomfortable in certain situations, but I’m learning to handle those moments better. It’s just another tournament. I can’t say much more than that,” he points out.
In this regard, Joaco understands that there are two fundamental keys to fighting for victory at Oakmont this week. The first is in his head, and the second is in his golf. Regarding the former, there are two words etched in his mind: attitude and patience. “I’ve been patient all week. From the start, I felt like I was forcing things to happen. On Saturday, I played good golf, but I wasn’t sinking many putts, and I think my attitude wasn’t the best. I had childish reactions. I wasn’t very proud of that. On Saturday night, I talked to myself and decided that on Sunday, I was going to be patient. I wanted to have a good attitude, good reactions after good putts, even if I missed them because it was very difficult to read the greens. I feel that all that patience during the week paid off in the last rain delay, in the last five holes, so I’m very proud of that. I feel that patience always pays off. I believe in that a lot. Today I proved to myself that I need to be more patient more often.”
Regarding the technical part, the key club is called the driver. The Chilean golfer feels he needs to find something for the week of the US Open. “At the beginning of the year, I was hitting it very well, but now it doesn’t feel as good. I think there’s still a lot to improve, so I’m definitely going to go back and try to find a solution. I have to resolve things in my game, as I said, especially the driver. Next week is going to be a good challenge. This has been good preparation for what’s coming. I’ve never been to Oakmont. It will be my first time. I’ll go on Monday, see what it’s like, and what to expect. Beyond that, I don’t have many expectations,” he pointed out.
Needless to say, the play from the tee will be crucial for obtaining a good result at Oakmont. As expected, with the rough and the hardness and speed of the greens, it’s better to be on the fairway to have chances.
