OAKMONT, Pa. — As the golf season’s third major gets underway this week at historic Oakmont Country Club for the 125th U.S. Open (June 12-15, 2025), all eyes are on Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 torching leaderboards like a human highlight reel. But if you’re looking for the guy who could steal the show, meet Joaquin Niemann — the 26-year-old Chilean dynamite who’s got everyone from Phil Mickelson to betting sharps buzzing as the best golfer not named Scheffler.
Fresh off a scorching run on the LIV Golf circuit and a career-best major finish, Niemann’s got the game, the grit, and the hunger to finally crash the major championship party.
The Hottest Streak in Golf
Niemann’s 2025 is the stuff of legend. He’s been a wrecking ball on LIV Golf, pocketing four victories this season, including a wire-to-wire clinic at LIV Virginia just last weekend. That’s seven wins in 16 months, a haul that trails only Scheffler’s worldwide dominance. Going deeper: In his last 34 worldwide starts, Niemann has eight wins (24%), 18 top-5s (53%), and 29 top-25s (85%).
His breakout moment in majors came at the PGA Championship, where a T8 finish at Quail Hollow marked his first top-10 in a big four event. Before that, his best U.S. Open showing was a T23, but don’t let the numbers (or Golf Channel puppets) fool you — Niemann is only 26 and is widely considered a world top-5 player. Today.
Niemann’s Heater
Span: Late 2023- Mid 2025
Starts: 34
Wins: 8
Top-5s: 18
Top-10s: 24
Top-25s: 29
Built for Oakmont’s Gauntlet
Oakmont, a par-70 beast stretching more than 7,300 yards, is golf’s equivalent of a cage fight. With five-inch rough, greens as slick as NHL ice, and fairways tighter than a Pittsburgh traffic jam, it’s a course that exposes every flaw.
Niemann, though, has a multi-faceted game to take it on: he averages 327.3 yards off the tee and will be able to shorten Oakmont’s punishing par-4s. His accuracy, while not Scheffler-level, has sharpened, and his iron play is pure artistry, ranking among the game’s best for greens in regulation (75%).
The one knock? His short game can go cold. For instance, he’s won four times in eight starts this season on LIV but has also finished outside the top 10 in the four other starts, including two results outside the top 30 (in a 54-player field).
However, Oakmont’s massive greens, where survival is about lag-putting and avoiding three-jack disasters, play to his strengths. As Tiger Woods noted, Oakmont favors long hitters with sharp short irons, and Niemann checks both boxes. If he keeps the flatstick cooperative, watch out.
Why He’s Flying Under the Radar
At +2500 odds, Niemann’s a juicy value bet, but he’s not getting the hype of Scheffler (+275) or Bryson DeChambeau (+700). Playing on LIV Golf, his heroics mostly get blacked out on the Golf Channel, and his major resume — 21 starts with just one top-10 — doesn’t yet scream “betting favorite.”
Additionally, his all-in, risk-taking style has burned him in big moments, as he admitted in a recent interview. Yet, that same aggression could be his ticket at Oakmont, where bold drives and fearless approaches can separate the brave from the broken.
Niemann’s journey adds fuel to his fire. Hailing from Santiago, Chile, he turned pro at 19 and won the 2019 Greenbrier Classic at 20, becoming the youngest international PGA Tour winner in nearly 100 years (1923). The prodigy had arrived. His move to LIV Golf in 2022, following a Tour win at Riviera against a stacked field, raised eyebrows, but he’s silenced doubters with a relentless work ethic, resulting in an historic run that’s drawn comparisons to a young Jon Rahm.
Niemann’s Profile
Name: Joaquín Niemann Zenteno
Nickname: Joaco
Nationality: Chile
Height: 6′
Weight: 155 lb
Birthdate: Nov 7 1998
Native: Santiago, Chile
Resides: Jupiter, Fla
Turned Pro: 2018
Rookie Year: 2019 (PGA Tour)
Current Tour: LIV Golf
Equipment: PING
The Breakout Moment Awaits
Why now? Niemann’s peaking at the perfect time. His T8 at the PGA Championship showed he can handle major pressure, and Oakmont’s demand for power and precision is tailor-made for his game. The Opta Analyst’s FRACAS model gives him a 6% chance to win — third behind Scheffler (43.2%) and DeChambeau (6.9%) — a nod to his elite form.
Online, bettors seem to be all-in on Niemann, with the general consensus being: “top-5-in-the-world vibes at a bargain price.”
Niemann’s World Rankings
OPTA: No. 3
DATA GOLF: No. 5
OWGR: No. 79
The Verdict on Niemann
At 26, Niemann’s got the swagger of a guy who knows his time is coming. In the span of about 36 months, he’s won nine times on four different tours (PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asia Tour, and LIV Golf League), across five countries (USA, Mexico, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore) — proving he has an elite game that travels well and can dominate.
A top-10 finish at Oakmont feels like a lock, but if his putter heats up and he tames Oakmont’s terrors, don’t be stunned to see Niemann hoisting the silver trophy come Sunday evening, cementing his place among golf’s elite. Oakmont’s history of crowning big names (Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Ernie Els, Dustin Johnson) fits his rising-star arc.
The kid from Chile is no longer a dark horse — he’s a thoroughbred ready to run.
