Joaquin Niemann’s caddie has earned colossal amount of prize money through LIV Golf
Joaquin Niemann's caddie has earned a massive amount of money from his player's performance on the LIV Golf tour this year.
It's not just the golfers who are cashing in on the LIV Golf tour - the caddies are also earning staggering amounts. The bag carriers, often the unsung heroes of the sport, are well appreciated and handsomely paid.
Typically, a caddie will pocket 10% of their players' victory purse, 7% for a top-10 finish and 5% for anything below. One of the most consistent performers in the Saudi-backed league this year has been Joaquin Niemann, who has clinched two tournaments, each victory netting him $4m (just over £3million).
The 25-year-old Chilean has boosted his earnings with a series of other top-10 finishes. Niemann ended up tied-15 at last month's Greenbrier tournament, although that still earned him a tidy $273,000 (just over £200,000). Therefore, heading into this weekend's tournament in Chicago, he had amassed $14.5million (just over £11million) in 2024.
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That is also great news for caddie Gary Matthews. Using the aforementioned formula, the bagman has raked in $1.3million (almost £1million) from LIV events alone this year prior to LIV Golf Chicago, which wraps up today (Sunday).
Matthews is on course for another lucrative weekend in Chicago, with Niemann tied fourth on four-under-par heading into the final round, three shots behind leader Jon Rahm, who has been at the centre of golfing headlines recently over his refusal to pay fines for defecting to LIV.
Not paying up - or at least not appealing against the sanction - would prevent him from playing in the DP World Tour events he needs to participate in to make himself eligible for next year's Ryder Cup. He finally submitted his appeal just before the entry deadline for the upcoming Spanish Open in Madrid.
The 29-year-old has also entered the Dunhill Links Championship and Andalucia Masters. However, Rahm remains adamant he will not pay the fines. Speaking ahead of LIV Chicago, he said: “I’m not a big fan of the fines.
“I don’t intend to pay the fines and we keep trying to have a discussion with them [the DP World Tour] about how we can make this happen. I intend to play in Spain. Whether they let me play or not is a different thing.”
Players who initially joined LIV in 2022 appealed against their suspensions and fines and were able to compete until April 2023 when an arbitration panel found in favour of the DP World Tour and ratified its right to enforce its regulations.
