Add titles and dollars: the millionaire prize pool that consolidates Niemann as the richest Chilean athlete of all time

Joaquín Niemann adds triumphs and millions of dollars to his account. This Sunday, the Chilean won a historic victory at LIV Golf in Mayakoba. For this first place in the league of Arab funds, he pocketed 4 million dollars. Today, he is positioned by far as the Chilean who has won the most awards in the world of sport.

Two years ago, when Talagantino moved from the PGA to the Saudi competition, he was already on the list of the richest athletes in the history of national sports. Until then, he had accumulated 14,583,484 US dollars. surpassing the scores of Marcelo Ríos, who won US$9,713,771 in prize money, distributed in his singles and doubles tournaments, or Fernando González, who pocketed US$8,862,276 during his time on the ATP circuit.

The money Niemann received in the LIV continues to increase compared to what he received until 2022. Last year, the Saudi Public Investment Fund determined a 63% increase to provide a total fund of $405 million in total. 20 or 25 million dollars were distributed depending on the events, for the individual competition. Additionally, there was an additional 5 million for the team competition.

The champion thus wins a check for 4 million US dollars. This is precisely what Niemann received this Sunday. The winning team receives an additional 3 million, which is 750,000 for each participant. In the event of a double win, the player in question receives a deposit of 4.75 million in three days of competition. Joaco might have been excited about that this weekend, but the Torque GC finished in third place.

Sportingly, Joaquín Niemann’s 2023 was far from living up to expectations. This was a player who, at the time of moving from one league to another, was in the top 20 in the world rankings. For the same reason, he arrives at LIV as team captain. One, moreover, armed at your convenience. But it was far from his best version. He was even overtaken by Mito Pereira in the annual ranking.

He finished in 21st place in the individual ranking. Only in four competitions (out of 13) did he manage to position himself in the top 10. Obviously, this did not prevent him from adding very high numbers to his portfolio. In terms of prize money alone, Joaco has accumulated US$3,930,500, adding up what he obtained in each of the competitions. In 2023, his best finish was seventh at Bedminster. To this must be added what was won during the team competition. The Torque GC finished in third place and received $6 million. Of these, 60% correspond to equipment expenses. Approximately US$2,400,000 is distributed among the athletes. As it was a team of four competitors, each received US$600,000. It’s to close the year on the podium.

On the other hand, there is what they have added each time their team finishes a competition in the first three places. Something that happened five times: four first places and one third place. Adding the $600,000 they receive for a bronze medal and the $3 million awarded for being leaders, multiplied by four, gives a total of $12,500,000. In other words, each participant in the Spanish-speaking group added US$3,125,000.

This Sunday, being third in the group category, 500 US$ was distributed during the first tournament of the year: $125,000 each.

In total, in prize money alone, Joaquín Niemann won a fortune of US$11,780,500 in the LIV. This is less than what he had accumulated when he left the PGA Tour. However, unlike his time on the American circuit, this weekend again he had a tournament in which he more than met the expectations that had been placed on him. Adding up the winnings between the two competitions, Niemann earned a substantial US$26,363,984.

The $4 million that Joaquín Niemann pocketed this weekend in the Riviera Maya is the biggest prize a Chilean athlete has won in a single competition. In this way, he surpasses himself. He already held the record before, with his memorable victory at the 2022 Genesis Invitational. At that time, the Chilean added the figure of 2 million 160 thousand dollars. Today, this figure practically doubles. On this occasion he also did it by beating one of his great teachers in the golf world: Sergio García, who played a key role in the rise of the national championship to the world circuit.

After the victory, Niemann did not hide his emotion. “It’s incredible, I’ve worked a lot in the last few weeks, I’ve practiced putting a lot, it’s really incredible,” » declared the Chilean athlete. “It was very complicated, I hit the ball very well on the last hole, I had a lot of confidence in my game, and it happened this time (…) I am ready (to win more “I want to win major tournaments, but I have to participate in them first,” he concluded.