“Going”: PGA Tour prospect to LIV Golf confirmed

Joaquin Niemann will be announced as a LIV Golf player this week, a key member of his team has confirmed.

The Chilean was first reported to be mulling over a switch to the Saudi-backed series last week, and his manager Carlos Rodriguez told AP it is now a done deal, with his client set to be included in the field for this week’s LIV event in Boston.

“Going but not signed it yet,” he is reported to have said.

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Niemann is the highest-ranked player in the world under the age of 25 and is regarded as one of the brightest talents in the game.

He has two PGA Tour wins to his name, most recently the Genesis Invitational in February.

His move to LIV is something of a surprise given he was one of the players in attendance at the now-legendary meeting hosted by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in advance of radical changes to the PGA Tour, which were announced last week.

According to the Telegraph, the 23-year-old has agreed a nine-figure sum with the breakaway tour, with Open champion Cam Smith receiving a similar amount.

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Niemann, along with the rest of a handful of players whose switches are expected to be confirmed in the coming days, now faces a ban from the PGA Tour. Last week, commissioner Jay Monahan doubled down on his stance, insisting there is no way back for players who have defected.

It also throws Presidents Cup captain Trevor Immelman’s international team into even more chaos. Niemann had been an automatic qualifier for the event, which takes place next month, but his move to LIV would prevent him from taking part.