Joaquín Niemann had everything ready, with a signed contract, to play the 2019 Country Club Open. But due to the social outbreak, that tournament was finally not played, nor was the La Dehesa Open, but the invitation was extended for the next edition. That appointment will be, although with another name, from next December 17 to 20, but again it will not have the number one in South America. Joaquín Niemann decided not to play for La Reina’s club.
The point is that the fact that sporting events in the country are played without an audience took away the golfer’s interest in participating. It is understandable, then the idea of making an effort to have him in the championship was attract people not only to the competition, but to golf in general, but without the input of attendees, it would not make sense for him to be there for a whole weekend.
In previous years the figure of Joaco has brought hundreds of people in his presentations, even when he was still an amateur, such as when he won, at the same Country Club, the Latin America Amateur Championship 2018 who gave him the invitation to his first Masters.
In the professional environment, the participation of the national in the Country Club contest is completely ruled out. “The condition was that he played the open as long as there was an audience and since that is not possible he will not play it. At the moment there is no change in the health part, so it is totally ruled out ”, explains his father, Jorge Niemann. The parent adds that the Chilean even has his vacations planned and tells the specific place in the country where he will be that week.
The confirmation of Niemann’s absence from the club’s tournament in La Reina comes in parallel with an important change in the organization of the championship. On Monday night it was decided that the fair will be called the Chilean Open by Prince of Wales Country Club. That is, the Chilean Golf Federation and the club joined forces so that the main tournament on the national calendar will have an edition this 2020, which has not known about championships.
However, the organizers of the, until then, Country Club Open had meetings with authorities from the Ministries of Health and Sports, but the requirements for the championship specifically have not yet been established. There is still almost a month left for its start, but it seems very difficult for it to have spectators, although foreign guests are, as it is being studied that the Chilean Open is part of the PGA Tour Latin America Development Circuit. That, in any case, must still be seen between the club, the Chilean Golf Federation and that continental circuit.
Joaquín Niemann will play next week the Mayakoba Classic, in Mexico, and the following, the QBE Shootout by invitation tournament, where he will partner with the Colombian Sebatián Muñoz. Then, on December 14, he will begin his vacation in Chile and it is already known where the PGA Tour will resume. “Play both Hawaii Championships in January. After that, it is not known ”, Jorge Niemann advances.
In other words, Niemann will take advantage of playing the Tournament of Champions for the second consecutive year (January 7-10) and the Sony Open a week later, both in the US islands. The first contest, where this year he got one of the best results of his career, is reserved for the winners of the PGA Tour tournaments each year, but this season, reduced by the Coronavirus pandemic, had few tournaments and therefore few winners, so special quotas were opened and the 30 finalists of the FedEx Cup. Niemann was one of them.
