Red hot Chilean golfer Joaquin Niemann has clearly taken his double winning 2026 form to this week’s Amgen Irish Open to lead by two shots after the opening round of a difficult first round at Doonbeg.
The 27-year-old Niemann, and a winner already of in some 10 different countries set about making an 11th country in posting a new course rccord five-under 65 capped by a string of four straight birdies from his 14th to 17th holes on a day spoilt by rain delays.
Niemann, who was out in the earlier better conditions, heads to day two on the Irish west coast clear of two players tied in second place on three-under that includes former amateur winning Irish Open champion Shane Lowry along with South African Shaun Norris.
Lowry also out early made a fast start as he holed a long putt at the second ahead of taking advantage of the fourth and then drove the par-four sixth to set up another birdie.
He then sandwiched a gain on the eighth with bogeys on the seventh and ninth before putting his tee shot to eight feet on the 14th as the 2009 amateur winning of his home Open seeks a first individual triump anywhere since capturing the 2022 BMW PGA Championship.
RED HOT CHILEAN LIGHTS-UP @IrishOpen_ @TrumpDoonbeg ….
The double 2026 @livgolf_league winning Joaquin Niemann @joaco_niemaox6f @joacotracker battles the brutal opening day conditions posting new @TrumpDoonbeg ⛳️ record 6⃣5⃣capped by four straight birdies to lead… pic.twitter.com/QkV9Ldn6wS
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) September 10, 2026
Three other players – Italian Renato Paradore, Austrian Maximilian Teinlechner and Niemann’s fellow LIV Golf star in Adrian Meronk – had reached three-under before the poor weather halted play for the day at 7.58pm local time.
Race to Dubai money-list leader Patrick Reed, with an early hat-trick of birdies, signed for score of a two-under 68 while defending champ Rory McIlroy only just managed to complete his round in signing for one-under 69.
In stark contrast the duo of next month’s Dunhill Links triple winning Tyrrell Hatton and Masters champion Danny Willett struggled in signing for eight-over 78s.
Niemann has played a limited schedule in 2026 but has three top tens in his last four DP World Tour starts, including a best Major finish of a tie for seventh at the U.S. Open.
And he revealed he was relishing the conditions on the County Clare coast as he looks for a second DP World Tour title after his win at the ISPS HANDA Australian pen in the 2024 season.
“It was a lot of fun out there,” he said. “It’s a really tricky course and a really fun golf course to play with. Especially with the Irish weather. Yeah, getting used to this weather and the rain so yeah, it was fun.
“It’s definitely a good challenge. You’ve got to hit those tee shots and keep it under the wind, left-to-right wind, right-to-left wind.
“I was talking with my caddie, like every shot into the wind just times a hundred probably. So if it’s a bad shot, it’s a really bad shot. But if it’s a good shot, it was so nice to see it. You know, it’s just sexy, you know, hitting eight iron, seven iron from 120, 130 yards is fun.”
He added: “I feel like there’s so much I need to learn about my game and so much I need to improve. But I am just on that highway. I’m committed to get better and better every time. And I know I can. I know that there’s a lot of room for improvement so, yeah, I’m happy where it is right now, but there’s a lot to work on.”
Well said and well played, Joaquin.
