Joaquin Niemann turns in sensational final US Open round to complete turnaround, earn key perk
That Joaquin Niemann was even playing in Sunday’s U.S.Open final round at Shinnecock was a minor miracle.It was Niemann, remember, who posted a 7-over-par 11 on the par-4 sixth hole in the completion of his first round Friday morning.The 27-year-old from Chile, who plays on LIV Golf, rallied admirably with a 5-under 65 in his second round to make the cut comfortably.In Sunday’s final round, Niemann closed with a 4-under 66 — the low round of the day — to finish tied for seventh at 1 over for the week.That result qualified Niemann for the 2027 U.S.
Open, with those in the top 10 getting an automatic invite.“Obviously, good golf takes care of it,’’ Niemann said after his round.“What I was trying to do was put a low round.
We saw Tommy [Fleetwood] last [time the U.S.Open was at Shinnecock, in 2018] put in a 63 in the clubhouse early in the morning, and I was just focusing on that.“I was focusing on trying to hit 63, trying my best.
Ended up just short, but really happy with the round today.’’Niemann said that other than that meltdown on No.6 in the first round, hitting two balls out of bounds and later being penalized two strokes for throwing his sand wedge in anger, “I played great.’’If he’d parred that hole, Niemann would be 6-under for the week, which would have been good enough to win the tournament.“To be honest, after that tee shot on No.
6, I wasn’t feeling that comfortable off the tee after seeing those two balls going that way and then having to play three more times that hole,’’ Niemann said.“It tests you to have the right mindset into that hole.
Good and bad shots are going to happen every time, and it happened two times in a row.It was something to learn from.’’Niemann got into the field by finishing in the top three in the LIV individual race, a special exemption the USGA created as an avenue for LIV players to play the tournament.Yet he said Sunday he felt like the USGA made an example out of him with the ...