Ahead of his title defence at the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, Joaquín Niemann has revealed the secret to his success this year: intense practice and a calmer mindset during tournament week.
The final date on The International Series schedule gets underway on Wednesday at Riyadh Golf Club.
The Chilean will try to become the first player to successfully defend his title at the tournament, while also looking for win number six this season – having claimed five individual titles on the LIV Golf League.
It has been the finest season of Niemann's career and at the age of 27 his approach to the game shows maturity beyond his years.
“Obviously, I like to go out and play with the less expectations the better,” said Niemann, who won LIV Golf events in Adelaide, Singapore, Mexico, Virginia, and UK this season.
“I feel like all I have to do is prepare myself the best I can during very good preparation weeks, so I can get to the tournament and just play golf. Everything else I feel like is going to take care by itself. Yeah, my expectations during practice are big, I practice to win. Yeah, that's one of the reasons that I'm here.”
He made a brilliant birdie to win here last year at Riyadh Golf Club on the second hole of a sudden-death play-off against American Caleb Surratt and Cam Smith from Australia.
An exquisite lob shot to a foot set up that winning birdie and it is safe to assume such flair will be on display this week.
The victory on the final event of last season's International Series schedule also saw Niemann secure the overall Rankings title.
“I feel like the game is in a good spot at the moment. I feel like I'm working towards the right direction. I made a few changes on my team which I'm pretty happy about. So, I have really big expectations of myself,” he said.
“So, yeah, it's nice to have a good team that I can be surrounded with. I have, I think, the best support system that I could have and I got the best of the best on every aspect so I'm pretty happy where I am.
“I think the key is also the consistency of good quality work with my team. I feel like I said before I'm really happy to have the people that I have on my bag. You know, I know that they work hard and try to make me a better person, better player.”
He has been paired with American Dustin Johnson, winner of this event in 2019 and 2021, and Tom McKibbin from Northern Ireland, who claimed the Link Hong Kong Open earlier this month, for the first two days.
All LIV Golf players, they will be joined in the new season by the leading two players on The International Series Rankings at the end of the tournament.
Scott Vincent from Zimbabwe currently leads the Rankings with 325.59 points, ahead of Japan’s Yosuke Asaji in second on 285.3. Miguel Tabuena from the Philippines holds third place, having earned 232.28 points.
With the winner this week set to earn 324 points, the race is still wide open and a wealth of players are in with a chance.
The US$5million tournament, the richest of the season, is also the third from last stop on the Asian Tour calendar. It will play a significant role in helping to determine who wins the Tour’s Order of Merit title. Japan’s Kazuki Higa currently leads the Merit list, with Vincent second, and Tabuena third.
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of a set of elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings Winner & Runner-Up promotion to the LIV Golf League.
