Tiger Woods no match for Joaquin Niemann, jokes 1-time PGA Tour winner after LIV Golf Virginia

At LIV Golf Virginia, Joaquin Niemann proved why he might be the best player on the Saudi-based tour this season. After three rounds at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Niemann scored 15-under par to secure his fourth LIV Golf victory in 2025.

Niemann's brilliant form has led to many people hailing him as one of the best golfers on the planet right now. However, 1-time PGA Tour winner Michael Kim went a step further when he joked that even Tiger Woods from the year 2000 would be no match to Niemann.

On X (formerly Twitter), Michael Kim wrote:

"2000 Tiger Woods would have no chance against LIV golf Niemann 😂"

You can check Michael Kim's tweet about Tiger Woods and Joaquin Niemann below:

Expand Tweet

For those unaware, Tiger Woods' 2000 season is one of the greatest seasons the sport has ever witnessed. In that year, Woods won nine events in total and amassed $9,188,321 in total. What's even more mind-boggling is the fact he won three Major championships in that year.

The three Major championships Tiger Woods won were the U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and The PGA Championship. Hence, while Joaquin Niemann is doing very well for himself in LIV Golf, the only way he could realistically come close to Woods' 2000 season is if he can win the remaining two Major championships this year.

How much did Joaquin Niemann earn for his victory at LIV Golf Virginia?

The LIV Golf Virginia event had a total purse of $12,000,000. Joaquin Niemann, got the largest share of this purse as he earned $4,000,000. Here is a detailed look at the payout for the event:

1 Joaquin Niemann -15 $4,000,000
T2 Graeme McDowell -14 $1,875,000
T2 Anirban Lahiri -14 $1,875,000
T4 Thomas Pieters -13 $775,000
T4 Bryson DeChambeau -13 $775,000
T4 Phil Mickelson -13 $775,000
T4 Bubba Watson -13 $775,000
T8 Jon Rahm -10 $483,750
T8 Martin Kaymer -10 $483,750
T10 Talor Gooch -9 $361,000
T10 Lee Westwood -9 $361,000
T10 Marc Leishman -9 $361,000
T10 Carlos Ortiz -9 $361,000
T10 Dustin Johnson -9 $361,000
T15 Brendan Steele -8 $285,000
T15 Sebastian Munoz -8 $285,000
T15 Tyrrell Hatton -8 $285,000
18 Harold Varner III -7 $270,000
T19 Paul Casey -6 $235,000
T19 Branden Grace -6 $235,000
T19 Ben Campbell -6 $235,000
T19 Abraham Ancer -6 $235,000
T23 Jason Kokrak -5 $193,333
T23 Louis Oosthuizen -5 $193,333
T23 Patrick Reed -5 $193,333
T23 Dean Burmester -5 $193,333
T23 Cameron Smith -5 $193,333
T23 Jinichiro Kozuma -5 $193,333
T29 Cameron Tringale -4 $167,500
T29 Charl Schwartzel -4 $167,500
T29 Richard Bland -4 $167,500
T29 Adrian Meronk -4 $167,500
T33 Brooks Koepka -3 $148,200
T33 Charles Howell III -3 $148,200
T33 Peter Uihlein -3 $148,200
T33 Sam Horsfield -3 $148,200
T33 Luis Masaveu -3 $148,200
T38 Sergio Garcia -2 $136,500
T38 Kevin Na -2 $136,500
T38 Yubin Jang -2 $136,500
T38 Tom McKibbin -2 $136,500
42 Caleb Surratt -1 $130,000
43 Danny Lee 1 $128,000
T44 Anthony Kim 2 $126,500
T44 Henrik Stenson 2 $126,500
46 Lucas Herbert 3 $125,000
T47 Frederik Kjettrup 4 $121,500
T47 Ian Poulter 4 $121,500
49 Andy Ogletree 6 $60,000
T50 Miro Pereira 7 $56,667
T50 Matt Jones 7 $56,667
T50 Josele Ballester 7 $56,667
53 Max Lee 11 $50,000

Team:

1 Crushers GC -36 $3,000,000
2 4 Aces GC -34 $1,500,000
3 Smash GC -31 $500,000

About the author

Varun is a Golf and WWE journalist for Sportskeeda with over 4 years of work experience in his bag. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he worked for many sites, including EssentiallySports, FanSided, Khel Now, Get Football, and a few others.

Varun is a fan of golfer Scottie Scheffler due to the latter’s mindset, and he admires Roman Reigns’ ability to keep moving forward in life regardless of any obstacles. As a purist golf fan, he would love to compete at the Masters if given the opportunity, but is also happy with LIV Golf driving more eyeballs towards the sport. If he could go back in time and be a manager for someone in the WWE, it would have been Big Show.

Varun’s mantra for writing factually correct feature articles is thorough verification. Another key element in his writing is staying updated with both sports through the official websites of pro wrestling and Golf. He has had the privilege of interviewing MMA legend Greg Jackson in his career so far.

Varun likes to spend his free time reading or writing poetry and fiction. He also plans to learn and play golf in his spare time.

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Edited by Varun Anand Bhat