Former world amateur number one Chilean Joaquin Nieman scored a landslide victory over the weekend at the Woods-hosted Zions Invitational Tournament at Riviera Country Club. The 23-year-old, who became the fourth golfer in history to lead from start to finish and the first since Charlie Sford in 1969, described the joy of winning his second PGA Tour, a tournament in which all the world's top ten players took part.
(Nemann lifts the Genesis Invitational trophy)
Oh my God, this weekend feels like it's been a long time coming... It felt like a month! I'm glad I won the PGA Tour for the second time. I'm proud of myself, and all the hard work, at this moment, ushered in a qualitative change, too amazing. Seeing the Chilean flag appear here makes me even more emotional, it's all really fantastic.
I think it's the kind of pitch where you need to do everything well; you have to drive well, the hardcore has to be accurate, push is more important, the greens are very fast. I was even more amazed at how well I handled it myself. I know I didn't play the best golf (63-63) like I did in the first two rounds, but I was impressed with the way I handled it. Thinking about it before, I thought in a few games I didn't win, my mentality was different from here, so it was a big positive change.
(Garcia and other players congratulated Neman for the first time after the game)
There is no language to describe this victory. It's been such a great week on and off the pitch. Every night we eat with my friends, Garcia, Carlos Ortiz, Mito Pereira, all here, and nothing is more important than that. Obviously, we're going to play 30 weeks a year, and during those 30 weeks, you want to have as much fun as you can. We stay together and we play practice together. We are really united. Knowing that they are by my side and waiting to see me receive the trophy is a very special thing. I really appreciate it and I'm happy because I have friends like that.
This is one of the toughest golf courses we've ever played in a year. There's the best venue, the best players, and that proves to myself that I can compete with the top players. I can be at the top of the world rankings. I think it will bring a lot of confidence to my next job. At the beginning of the year, I played great golf at Dollyson (Farmers Insurance Open). Going into the Riviera, I'm very confident that I can handle the week. Two days later, I said to myself, 'We have to get this done and stay focused', and I'm confident to say that because I feel good, I hit the ball well. In some previous races, I haven't trusted myself as much as I have in the past week. I proved to myself that I could have the confidence to fight with the top players in the world.
(Neman and the Idol Tiger)
I want to compete with the best players in the world and I want to be number one one one day. I guess there's nothing better than how I feel right now. Win the PGA Tour, get the trophy, and in front of Tiger Woods, there's nothing compared to that. I probably hadn't seen a tiger a year ago. Everyone knows about his car accident, which is sad. It's really nice to be able to see him, he's one of my idols. It was special to have a tiger on the scene and receive the trophy from him.
Equally exciting is the 100th birthday of Charlie Sfort, the last champion to lead from start to finish here. This coincidence strikes me as amazing. You can see all the history in the clubhouse. Obviously, that was a long time ago, and I wasn't even born yet! It's great to see all the history behind this event. I think it's one of the oldest races on our tour.
There are a lot of Latin Americans on the pitch, a lot of Chileans, so you can feel their support. They cheered differently than the people here. It was special to have them there and spend some time with them. They followed me the whole round and we had a special day.
(Neman celebrates winning the championship with his family and friends)
I would also like to thank my coach, my family and the Federation of Chile for their support. Everyone in Chile is helping me to compete all over the world. I was great when I was in Chile and went on to the PGA TOUR to compete with the best players in the world. So I came to the U.S. when I was about 14 years old, and I thought it was something I needed to do, and it worked well.
You know, I came back to Chile for about the whole of December and the two weeks of January. It's been about a month and we've done a lot of things. It's something I love doing every year and going back to my normal life. I've been in the U.S. for over three years and it's obviously a hard life, especially for us, when we're far from home. Going back once in a while, seeing my friends, seeing my family, and doing what I used to do when I was 16 gave me strength both physically and mentally.