DUBAI, U.A.E. — He’s two shots back at the halfway stage of the DP World Tour Championship. Apart from the leader, Antoine Rozner, he has two formidable names ahead of him in Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton. And he is part of a chasing pack that includes the likes of Shane Lowry, Rasmus Hojgaard and Tommy Fleetwood.

So much work remains to be done if Joaquin Niemann is to claim what would be his second DP World Tour title. But one thing is for sure amid such obvious uncertainty: The 26-year-old Chilean will have no doubts about his ability to win. His unique swing leaves him a distinctive figure in an increasingly homogenous professional game. But so does his mind. Making difficult decisions—like jumping to the LIV Golf League in August 2022—and living with the consequences already have been features of the reigning Australian Open champion’s career.

Unlike many of his peers on the Saudi-backed circuit, Niemann has battled against the establishment’s tough line almost ever since he joined LIV. In the meantime, he has played well enough in Asia and Europe (accumulating valuable World Ranking points not offered with his LIV starts) that he has missed only one major championship, this year’s U.S. Open. This season the Santiago-native’s nine starts on the DP World Tour (if we include the Olympics) have resulted in a victory in Australia and three other top-10 finishes. Not once has he missed the cut. Throw in a victory on LIV and his is a season well-played.

“I teed-up with Joaquin last week in Abu Dhabi and played with him in the Dubai Desert Classic at the start of the year,” McIlroy says. “His World Ranking (138th) obviously doesn’t come close to reflecting how good he is. I think he is one of the top 10 or 15 players in the world. He’s got so much talent, so much potential. And he clearly wants it. Yes, he made a decision he felt was right for him to go to LIV. But alongside that, he has committed to making sure, as much as he can, that he is in the majors. He has chased his tail all over the world to make sure he is in the biggest events. Fair play to him.”

So it is that, at least for the moment, Niemann remains a member of the DP World Tour. Unlike Jon Rahm, Hatton and Adrian Meronk, he is up-to-date with the financial penalties and fines that routinely come his way when he has teed-up in a LIV event opposite a tournament on the Old World circuit. However, that is clearly an impractical solution going forward. (Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the DP World Tour said: “All members have to request releases for conflicting events, and those requests are then considered on a case-by-case basis.)

Rory McIlroy has been paired with Niemann early and late in 2024 and remains impressed with his level of play despite his drop in the World Ranking due to competing on the LIV Golf circuit.

Warren Little

As things currently stand, Niemann is going to have to make some career-defining choices over the next few months. Either he is going to have to relinquish his DP World Tour membership and so give up all the advantages that come with that—notably World Ranking points, the possibility of exemptions into the majors. Or he is going to have to speak nicely to his bank manager on a regular basis.

“I don’t know how it is going to work next year,” admitted Niemann, minutes after making five birdies and an eagle in a second-round 67 over the Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates. “It all depends on the message from [DP World Tour officials]. Whatever they say, goes. What I do know is that every time I play in a LIV event, I will be fined and suspended. That is not really practical for me. I see guys getting fined for playing in their national Opens. To me, that doesn’t make any sense. But others clearly think it makes sense for us to pay fines. So I’m in a wait-and-see situation. If I can keep my membership and play more events, great. If not, I will have to make another plan.”

What that strategy will be remains to be seen amid the seemingly state of uncertainty at the sharp end of the game. Suddenly though, passing Rozner, McIlroy and Hatton seems like the least of Niemann’s worries.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com