Joaquin Niemann received a two-shot penalty for “serious misconduct” at the U.S. Open after throwing a club in frustration. The ruling turned his quintuple-bogey nine on the sixth hole into a septuple-bogey 11, leading to an opening-round 78.
The penalty was handed down after a disastrous par-four sixth hole on Thursday evening. Niemann hit two tee shots out of bounds before play was suspended for darkness. He returned Friday morning, hacked his sixth shot onto the fairway, and then threw his sand wedge in anger before eventually two-putting for what he thought was a nine.
The USGA acted decisively under Rule 1.2b, which gives committees authority to penalize players for actions “contrary to the spirit of the game.” A statement confirmed the punishment. “Joaquin Niemann was assessed two penalty strokes for throwing a club on the sixth hole during Round 1. This act was determined to be serious misconduct under Rule 1.2b.”
Niemann was only informed of the penalty before his second round and initially pushed back. “They considered with the whole committee that it was a right decision to give me a two-shot penalty. Obviously I was trying to argue back, to try to not get the two-shot penalty, but it’s their decision.”
The Chilean admitted his frustration boiled over as the horn blew to suspend play. “They blew the horn [to suspend play for bad light] but after I hit that shot, all the frustration came inside me. Had my club in my hand and I couldn’t resist to throw it away. There was no-one there but I’m not proud of it.”
He ultimately accepted the ruling and owned his behavior, acknowledging the poor example it set. “I feel like I wouldn’t be happy seeing players throwing clubs and behaving that way so, yeah, I agree. I’m the first one to judge myself when I don’t behave on the golf course – that was a misbehave from my part.”
This type of penalty is becoming more common as golf’s governing bodies crack down on player conduct. Sergio Garcia was notably penalized under a similar code at The Masters earlier this year. The punishment, however, seemed to fuel Niemann. He responded with a blistering five-under 65 in his second round, firing off five birdies in his first six holes to ensure he would play the weekend.
