LIV Golf star makes feelings clear on Greg Norman, Saudi bosses and Jon Rahm title race

LIV Golf star Joaquin Niemann has hailed commissioner Greg Norman and the people behind the breakaway league , with the title favorite bullish about the circuit’s future.

The Saudi Arabia-backed tour, which launched two years ago and poached numerous top PGA Tour stars including the Chilean former world No. 15, hosted its UK tour stop at JCB Golf & Country Club in Staffordshire over the weekend.

Niemann left with a tinge of disappointment after finishing in a tie for second place, just one shot behind winner and title rival Jon Rahm. But the 25-year-old has no regrets about his move to LIV, and he told Mirror Sport the league will go from strength to strength.

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“You can tell it’s growing in the right direction, the direction we want,” Niemann said. “It’s all because of the team there is behind LIV and I'm very happy to be part of this new process.

“I’m super excited about where it is going to take us and it was amazing to see all of these people having a great time.”

Although Rahm got his hand on the trophy and the £3.1million top prize at JCB, Niemann’s performance took him a huge step closer to clinching the season-long Individual Championship title. The two-time PGA Tour winner won the first and third tournaments of the campaign in Mexico and Saudi Arabia respectively.

And he has been supremely consistent in the eight events since, finishing outside of the top 10 only once to build a 24.2-point advantage at the top of the standings. Just two individual events remain at The Greenbrier in West Virginia and Bolingbrook in Illinois and Niemann is relishing the chance to go head-to-head with Rahm for the title.

“It’s awesome. It’s a great motivation,” he said. “Obviously, I want to win and I want to be on the top. I just need to keep working harder. That is where you win the tournaments.”

But first, Niemann has the challenge of the Olympics to deal with and he has high hopes of leaving Paris with a medal. He will tee off in Thursday’s opening round at Le Golf National alongside Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti and Thorbjørn Olesen of Denmark.

"I am excited to play, you don't get to play in the Olympics too often,” he added. “It is an honour to be there representing my country. I am hoping it is going to be a good week and then we can see what happens.

"I have seen that [Le Golf National] is a great course on the internet and the TV. I am excited for it. We have got great players there. It is going to be a lot of fun having us all together there and playing for our countries."