Joaquin Niemann looks like he is cruising to another LIV Golf win at the JCB Golf Club in England after taking a commanding six shot lead ahead of the final round.
The Chilean star has been one of LIV Golf’s shining lights and a win at LIV UK will be his seventh on the breakaway tour.
Niemann is 14-under for his first two rounds and with Bubba Watson his closest contender at 8-under, win number seven should be in the bag.
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Still, those in the chasing pack will not be giving up the fight lightly and one of those in the mix is English golfer, Paul Casey.
The former Ryder Cup man is on home turf and will be desperate to make a late push and in turn, hope Niemann makes mistakes.
Indeed, speaking after playing alongside Niemann, Casey gave his verdict on LIV’s top man.
Paul Casey gives verdict on Joaquin Niemann at LIV Golf UK
Paul Casey has been around long enough now to know a good player when he sees one and there’s no doubt he’ll have been impressed by Joaquin Niemann’s rise.
Sure enough, after completing his own round alongside the Chilean, Casey was full of praise for his playing partner.
“What is he, 13? 14? Got me by six, and I’ve played well,” Casey conceded.
“I mean, that’s the thing. I think when you look at it and when a guy is ahead, you go, could I be there if I eliminate my mistakes. That’s the one. And I couldn’t. I made two bogeys yesterday. I made one today. I messed up the 3rd. When you start to look at it all, I maybe could find four shots, maybe five. But he’s six.
“So even if I eliminate every single mistake I’ve made, I’m still not there. That’s pretty telling. That means the guy is playing unbelievable golf. You tip the cap, don’t you. It’s amazing stuff.”
Asked what it’s actually like to play alongside Niemann, Casey admitted it was very much something he enjoys.
“I don’t know. I like playing with Joaco. It’s good fun. This year I don’t know. I played a lot with him last year it seemed like. Yeah, he’s got something special going, four wins already, looking for No. 5. New caddie on the bag. That doesn’t seem to affect anything, does it,” Casey continued.
“As Johnny said, that’s giving caddies a bad name. Yeah, he’s that good. What can you say other than just tip your cap.”
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Joaquin Niemann needs a PGA Tour return to win majors
Phil Mickelson has called Niemann the best golfer in the world and to some degree, he might have a point.
The problem is that Niemann is playing on the LIV side of things, meaning he is not proving himself over 72-hole events and then he’s also not producing in majors.
His major record is pretty abysmal and until that changes, he can’t be considered among the very very elite in the game.
With Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy being so consistently great and others on the PGA side also playing well, Niemann could well do with a return to the PGA Tour to really prove himself.
He is young enough to make that move back eventually but until he does, he’ll never be considered among some of the other star names in the game, regardless of what other LIV players say.
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