Phil Mickelson’s wild suggestion about LIV Golf star is now starting to really look possible after LIV Mexico

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Usually when a golfer like Phil Mickelson makes a big call, it’s not far off being on the money and one of his very latest bold calls looks like being more and more true by the week.

Now well into his 50s, Mickelson is as well placed as most in the game to make big calls on up and coming players, the current state of the game, and everything else that goes with the crazy world of professional golf.

Of course, being on the LIV Golf scene, Mickelson gets an up close and personal look at a few golf talents who we may not see quite as much as the PGA players.

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One of those talents is the Chilean star and now joint leader in terms of LIV wins, Joaquin Niemann.

And after Niemann won once more at LIV Mexico City this past weekend, he’s doing his level best to prove that Phil Mickelson was correct about him.

How Joaquin Niemann is proving Phil Mickelson right

It was only back in March this year that Phil Mickelson got the whole golf world talking by making a big claim about Joaquin Niemann.

At the time, Mickelson claimed Niemann was the best player in the world, despite him not being high up the OWGR rankings and not quite performing at the majors just yet.

Of course, there is also the caveat that Niemann only plays 54 hole events on the LIV tour and until that changes, there’ll always be question marks.

However, when it comes to Niemann and the form he’s producing, it’s hard to argue that he’s at least not right up there with the best.

Niemann now has five wins on LIV, joint with Brooks Koepka, and after seeing off Bryson DeChambeau in Mexico at the weekend, he showed yet more fighting qualities.

In doing so, Niemann has earned his way into the US Open and after a disappointing T29 at The Masters, he’ll want to prove he can win on the biggest of all stages.

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Joaquin Niemann’s major record has to improve

It goes without saying that any top golfer will be judged on how they do in the majors and the truth of the matter is right now, Joaquin Niemann has not delivered.

So far, his best effort is a T16 at the 2023 Masters, something that’s simply not good enough for a player of his standard.

In fact, in 23 major tournaments, Niemann has even missed the cut seven times, and even when making the cut, he’s finished outside the top 40 a further six times.

It goes without saying, then, that Joaquin Niemann needs to improve in the majors. If he does, and he can finally win one, then Phil Mickelson’s comment gets more weight to it and over time, the discussion on how he compares to a Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler can really kick on.