Joaquin Niemann’s navigation of the Wild Atlantic Way was carried out brilliantly, as the Chilean defied windy conditions – with balls oscillating on some greens – to claimed the clubhouse lead in the first round of the Amgen Irish Open at Trump International Links with a five-under-par 65 that included birdies in four of his five closing holes.
Niemann, who has played his golf primarily on LIV in recent seasons, claimed his experience to be “a lot of fun” which perhaps explained how his positive mindset produced such a good finish on a day where rounds were painfully slow and extended to beyond five hours and 40 minutes.
The 27-year-old Niemann and his caddie Diego Salinas combined to master the conditions, taking the clubhouse lead two shots clear of Shaun Norris, with some fine shotmaking and utilising his low ball flight.
“You 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 a hundred times 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, hitting 8-iron, 7-iron, from 120, 130 yards is fun,” Niemann.
Pádraig Harrington, competing in his 31st straight Irish Open, a record for any national open, opened with a one-over 71 while Séamus Power suffered a bogey-bogey finish to sign for a 73.
“I struggled, to be honest, right from the start. I was hanging in there, so it was disappointing to throw a few away at the end. It wasn’t my best, and on a day like today you need to play better than I did,” said Power.