Phil Mickelson has never shied away from making bold declarations. So his latest, which came in the form of an attention-grabbing reply on X/Twitter Sunday morning, is hardly surprising.
Still, even for Lefty, it’s a bit much. Of course, that’s depending on your view of LIV Golf, and whether or not 54-hole tournaments made up of 54-man fields are proper tests of golf. If you believe they are, than you might also believe that Joaquin Niemann is undoubtedly a top 10 player on the planet right now, the Chilean picking up his fifth LIV victory in Singapore on Sunday.
Top 10? Higher Bob, according to Phil. Well, lower, technically.
Top 5?
Try #1— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) March 16, 2025
Because LIV Golf events do not come with World Ranking points, Niemann currently sits at 81st in the world, his last counting result, a T-3, coming at the International Series India on the Asian Tour in February. Two months earlier, Niemann won the PIF Saudi International, also on the Asian Tour. Those two finishes saw him jump from 124th to 68th. At his peak, Niemann was 15th following a T-35 at the 2022 Masters.
Speaking of the Masters, Niemann will yet again be everyone’s “dark horse” pick now that he’s won twice on LIV in 2025 alone. The 26-year-old’s highest finish at Augusta National is a T-16 in 2023, which is also his highest finish in 22 career majors, a fact that his detractors were quick to point out Sunday morning.
Scottie Scheffler and Joaquín Niemann have played in the same major championship 16 times
Head-to-head
Scheffler 15-1Score to Par
Scheffler: -82
Niemann: +55Missed Cuts
Scheffler: 1/16
Niemann: 4/16Arrests
Scheffler: 1
Niemann: 0 pic.twitter.com/cwQpWnNzaf— Will Knights (@willknightsTFE) March 16, 2025
A+ tweet from Will here, in fairness. In fairness times two, Mickelson had a fair reply. It’s an in-fairness off!
All true. Let’s keep these tweets and see what happens throughout this year.
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) March 16, 2025
The beauty of sports? Niemann gets to prove everybody right, or wrong, in April when he plays in the Masters, which he received a special invitation to for the second consecutive year. Get your popcorn ready.
Article originally appeared on: GolfDigest.com