The millionaire and particular final in which Niemann will debut this week

Full of new challenges, Joaquín Niemann’s career has been since April 2018, when he debuted in a Masters. After that he experienced his first tournament as a professional, then playing in Europe, entering the PGA Playoffs, a Presidents Cup, a WGC … This week, the number one in Chile has a new adventure, he will face the Tour for the first time Championship, the tournament with which the American circuit closes its seasons.

It is not just another contest. First, because as usual only the best 30 of the season play it. Then, because the final positions in the championship determine the final position in the ranking: the champion is the winner of the year, receives the FedEx Cup and a membership on the tour for five years. And, of course, the check for 15 million dollars.

Actually, more than a tournament, the appointment that takes place from Friday to Monday (holiday in the United States) is the definition of a ranking. That is why the organizers decided that not all the players start in the same conditions, but that the leaders have an advantage over their escorts. Or that the best of the year find it easier to win than those from behind, seen in another way. Thus, Dustin Johnson, one of the ranks, will start the contest with 10 strokes under par; his guard, Jon Rahm, will start with -8, and the third, Justin Thomas, with -7. For example, the 10th, Hideki Matsuyama, starts with -4.

Niemann? Being 18th in the ranking, it will start with -2, which is what corresponds to those located between position 16 to 20. The last five positions start at zero (even). The rest of the tournament is done in a traditional way. The only thing that this particular added handicap will not be taken into account is for the calculation of the world ranking.

But if the system makes this championship unique, what makes it perhaps more interesting is its prize pool. The check that Niemann receives will add significantly to his earnings, as in his entire career on the PGA Tour he has received 5.55 million dollars. The winner of the contest, or rather, the number one of the year, will keep 15 million of the US currency. If the Chilean were the winner, they would have won the greatest prize in the history of national sport, although it is not so correct to think that this award is for four days of the tournament, but that it corresponds to a year of campaign. The fact of playing with the handicap system supports this point.

The golfer would remain as the Chilean athlete with the most earnings in history, surpassing Marcelo Ríos, if he is first and even if he finishes second, because the runner up receives five million. The third, “only” wins four million dollars and the fourth, three million, more than double Niemann’s biggest prize, the 1.35 million he obtained for winning the 2019 Greenbrier (the seventh in East Lake receives a similar figure, 1.3 million).

That is going very well. If he maintains his 18th position with which he reaches the grand final, he will be left with $ 535,000, slightly less than the 551,000 he received last week for his successful third place in the BMW Championship. In the worst case scenario, yesIf he collapsed and finished last, $ 395,000 still awaits him, that is, in East Lake he will receive at least the third best award of his career.

The Tour Championship has been played since 1987, always with the 30 best of the year, in 2004 it began to be played in East Lake, Georgia, and since 2007 it is the final tournament of the then created Playoffs. They have only managed to win the FedEx Cup twice by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who won last year, when the handicap system was used for the first time. The Northern Irishman started with five strokes behind Justin Thomas, the one in the ranks, and finished four above his guard, Xander Schauffele. In other words, going back is possible. And fall too.