LIV Golf star Joaquin Niemann has parted company with his caddie and coach in a major shake-up to his team. The Chilean has made the surprise decision despite being top of the Saudi-backed league’s standings with three events remaining.
Niemann has worked with caddie Gary Matthews since he joined LIV Golf in 2023. The 26-year-old has been coached by Eduardo Miquel since he turned professional in 2018. He has now split from both individuals and has been seen on the range with a different team. Diego Salinas, a professional on the Chilean tour, is understood to have been appointed as Niemann’s new caddie.
It comes after Niemann missed the cut at The Open last week. That was his second consecutive early exit from a major. Golf website Bunkered reported that the two-time PGA title winner was ‘visibly frustrated’ with his efforts in Northern Ireland.
Even after winning LIV Golf Virginia, Niemann insisted that he was unhappy with elements of his game. He said in June: “I scored pretty good. I made good putts whenever I needed to, made good up-and-downs on 17. But I feel like my driving still hasn’t been the best.
“ I started driving it pretty good at the beginning of the year, and right now it doesn’t feel like the best it could be. There’s a lot of work that I feel like I can improve on. Definitely going to go back and try to figure out something.”
Former pro Eddie Pepperell says those improvements will not come unless Niemann leaves the LIV Golf tour. “The only time I have really seen him play golf recently was at Augusta where he featured a little bit and fell away,” Pepperell told The Chipping Forecast.
“And he looked so at ease winning in Mexico there on the LIV tour. And I was struck by – again – just going back to Phil’s comments that he made a few weeks ago where he described Joaquin Niemann as the best player in the world. Now, Joaquin Niemann I think does have the potential to be one of, if not the best player in the world.
“But as long as he is on LIV, it is simply not going to happen. Because when you put him in an environment that clearly he was in at Augusta where there is pressure and he’s uncomfortable he is not able to do what he is doing on LIV.
“And I know I lambast LIV often, but I just cannot — he must surely know this. He cannot remain on LIV for a great deal longer if he wants to get the best out of his career because he is such a good player.”