Joaquín Niemann
Joaquín Niemann (born 7 November 1998) is a Chilean professional golfer. He was the number one ranked amateur golfer from May 2017 to April 2018. He is currently a member of the PGA Tour, where he has claimed two wins. Amateur career. Niemann was the number one ranked golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for 44 weeks, from May 2017 to April 2018, when he turned professional. Niemann planned to play at the University of South Florida, but he was unable to gain entry due to his TOEFL scores. Niemann won the 2017 Mark H. McCormack Medal  for being the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at the conclusion of the summer's championship season, thus gaining entry into the 2018 U.S. Open and into the 2018 Open Championship. He won the 2018 Latin America Amateur Championship gaining entry also into the 2018 Masters Tournament. Professional career. Niemann forfeited those exemptions to the 2018 U.S. Open and Open Championship to turn professional before the 2018 Valero Texas Open, where he finished 6th in his first tournament as a professional golfer. He earned Special Temporary Member Status on the PGA Tour for the rest of  2018 with a T6 finish at the Memorial Tournament, his third top-ten in only five starts on tour. He earned a PGA Tour card for the 2018–19 season, after a fourth top-10 finish (T5 at The Greenbrier) in eight tournaments. Niemann joins Jordan Spieth (2013) and Jon Rahm (2016) as golfers who were able to completely bypass the Web.com Tour Finals and earn PGA Tour cards after starting the season without any status. In September 2019, Niemann won A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier for his first PGA Tour victory. He became the first PGA Tour winner from Chile , and the youngest international PGA Tour winner since 1923. In December 2019, Niemann played on the International team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16–14. Niemann went 0–3–1 and lost his Sunday singles match against Patrick Cantlay. In January 2021, Niemann shot a final round 64 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He joined Harris English in a playoff, but was defeated on the first extra hole. A week later, he finished T2 at the Sony Open in Hawaii; one stroke behind Kevin Na. In July 2021, Niemann shot a  bogey free 18-under par for 72 holes to tie with Cameron Davis and Troy Merritt for the lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Niemann made his first bogey of the week on the first playoff hole and was eliminated. Davis was the eventual champion. In February 2022, Niemann shot rounds of 63-63-68-71, to win the Genesis Invitational hosted by Tiger Woods. He finished the tournament at 19-under par, two strokes ahead of Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young. Amateur wins. Source: Professional wins (9). PGA Tour wins (2). PGA Tour playoff record (0–2) Results in major  championships. "Results not in chronological order in 2020." CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic Results in The Players Championship. "T" indicates a tie for a place Results in World Golf Championships. Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic "T" = Tied NT = No tournament Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. PGA Tour career summary. Niemann was an amateur through the 2018 Masters Tournament. Team appearances. Amateur Professional