LIV GOLF CHICAGO

September 15, 2024

Joaquin Niemann

Bolingbrook Golf Club

Torque GC

Quick Quotes

Q. I don't think you could have asked much more in yourself today, bogey-free 66.

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Yeah, I mean, I knew I had to do something great, and I felt like I did. I played amazing golf. But yeah, I feel like to beat someone like Jon Rahm, you've got to do things better, and yeah, it's a good way to push myself. I want to be in that position. I want to keep improving. Yeah, it's a good way to show myself that I can be there, and just a few shots behind, which is pretty close.

Q. Is it a disappointment? When you look at the season you've had --

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Yeah, I'm pretty happy. I was telling my caddie that I don't feel any disappointment. I feel like I gave it everything that I had. It didn't feel like I gave a shot away the whole season. Yeah, that for me is a win.

Q. You really fought back there. I think at one point you were like five up and really gave it a run on the back nine.

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Yeah, I had a good start, and it kind of slowed down a little bit in the middle, but yeah, I knew I needed to do something special on the back nine, which is kind of the easiest part of the course. I knew if I made some birdies there, maybe Jon wouldn't, and I'd catch up a little.

But yeah, I missed that one on the par-5, on 14, that kind of cost me a little bit. If I hit it five yards longer, I had a pretty good chance for eagle.

So yeah, I feel like there's a few shots that could have gone my way. I hit two pins, one on the front and one on the back, where they could have been a gimme and they ended up on the front of the green.

You have three shots there where I could have made it, but I think it's just the way it goes.

Q. Ultimately it seems like the difference between you and Jon this season wasn't so much -- obviously they had a consistency that paid off for them.

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: Yeah, I think golf it's key to have that consistency. I feel like I was up there almost every week. Probably had two finishes that I didn't do that well. I feel like if I look back to Houston, I had a pretty bad finish on Sunday. It was kind of my week where I could have had some advantage. But I tried my best at that time, and it wasn't good enough. But I feel like the difference is almost nothing. Anytime it's going to go my way. I'm sure it's going to happen.

Q. You've got one more chance to raise a trophy next week. You must be looking forward to that.

JOAQUIN NIEMANN: It's pretty exciting about actually having that kind of revenge next week for the team. I think we can do something happen. We didn't win the whole year, but we can probably do it now.