Joaquin Niemann’s recent triumph at LIV Golf Virginia not only pocketed him a cool $4 million but also propelled him past Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler in the 2025 prize money stakes. The 26-year-old Chilean has been on a blistering run this year, with his win on Sunday being his fourth individual victory on the Saudi-backed circuit this season – that’s three more than any other competitor.
Heading into the event at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Niemann had already amassed a tour-topping $12.8M, comfortably ahead of Bryson DeChambeau, who was in second place with over $4M less. With his latest earnings, Niemann’s total for 2025 has skyrocketed to nearly $17M, surpassing both Scheffler’s $14.5M and McIlroy’s $13.9M earned on the PGA Tour since January began.
Despite their major wins this season, with Scheffler clinching the PGA Championship last month and McIlroy securing his first Masters victory in April, Niemann has yet to claim a major title himself. Nevertheless, he continues to be a formidable force on the green, raking in millions and claiming victories, as evidenced by his performance where he birdied four of the final five holes to edge out Graeme McDowell and Anirban Lahiri by a mere stroke.
Reflecting on the tournament’s challenges, Niemann, who made the switch to LIV in 2022 after leaving the PGA Tour, commented on the impact of the weather delays after the final round was interrupted twice. “I felt like there was a lot going on during the rain delay,” he said post-victory.
“Tried to keep my mind on the right thoughts, and having Bryson DeChambeau coming off pretty clutch at the end, Phil Mickelson as well, Anirban. It could have been for anybody, and I felt like I was all day just behind, especially since the beginning of the week, and I feel like the only word that I was telling myself from last night was just have faith. There’s nothing else I can do, have a good attitude, and just wait.”
Niemann will join forces again with Scheffler and McIlroy at Oakmont Country Club for this week’s U.S. Open. After a sensational start to 2025, capturing the Masters, the 36-year-old has seen a dip in form lately, leading up to a missed cut at the RBC Canadian Open.
McIlroy conceded that his recent lacklustre showings were causing him concern, particularly his driving, ahead of golf’s third major tournament of the year. “Yeah, of course it concerns me,” he acknowledged following his premature departure from the Canadian Open.
“You don’t want to shoot high scores like the one I did today. Still, I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver, thinking that that was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn’t.
“Going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. Still searching for the missing piece off the tee. For me, when I get that part of the game clicking, then everything falls into place for me. Right now, that isn’t.”
