Joaquin Niemann

Niemann will not play in any PGA Tour events in 2024, short of going through qualifying for either Open.

Niemann went back and forth on whether or not to defect to LIV Golf, but even though he was included at the players only meeting at the BMW Championship ultimately decided to take the money and give up the chance to play the PGA Tour or the Presidents Cup. The 23-year-old had a very nice season that was highlighted by his victory at Riviera and a third straight trip to the Tour Championship. Niemann's best career finish in a major is just a T23, so it's hard to see him doing that much next season if he only gets to tee it up four times.

Niemann has steadily improved since turning pro in the middle of the 2018 season, but last season he really made a nice leap. Niemann's best season on the PGA Tour happened without the benefit of a win, but he did post an impressive three runner-up finishes. Niemann's best golf is still in front of him, but he made a significant jump in earnings in 2020-21, and it will be tough to duplicate that effort this season. As such, NIemann is not a great salary cap option this season.

Niemann started last season off with his first career win at the Greenbrier. He flashed in a couple other events last season, but left you wanting more. Niemann's iron play is very impressive, ranking inside the top 20 on Tour in SG: Approach and proximity to the hole. If the putting and short game can take a leap in his third season, a breakout campaign is certainly possible.

After earning over $1.2 million in just 12 starts as a non-member in 2018, Niemann had plenty of momentum heading into this past season, but as the new season began, Niemann lost his way. He posted a top-10 in the fall portion of the season, but it wasn't until late-June that he actually rediscovered his form from 2018. During a six-week stretch leading into the FedEx playoffs, Niemann carded three top-10s and an additional pair of top-25s. It was all that was needed to reaffirm that this kid is going to be pretty good. At this price, Niemann has a lot of value in salary cap leagues this season.

Priority Category No. 21 states that if a non-member in a season equals the number of points by the No. 125th-ranked golfer from the previous season, he gets a card for the next season. Niemann did that, so he has a card for 2018-19 and he potentially will have a significant impact. The still-not-20-year-old Chilean sensation played 13 tournaments, 12 as a pro after missing the cut at the Masters, and notched four top-10s and six top-25s. Only 36 guys had more top-10s, and Niemann had the same number as Rickie Fowler, Francesco Molinari, Brandt Snedeker and Ian Poulter, among others. Let's talk stats: Niemann ranked second in greens in regulation, 12th in strokes gained: off the tee, fifth in strokes gained: approach and 15th in both strokes gained: tee-to-green and total. That, gamers, is the real deal. He needs to work on his putting, which was middle of the road, and his scrambling, which was horrible. Niemann earned a little more than $1.2 million, which would've placed him 101st on the money list. But remember, he played only half a season. Double it and he'd have finished about 44th in earnings. And then if you think he can get better in his first full season on Tour, then maybe we're talking about top-30 and the Tour Championship for Niemann.