SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Joaquin Niemann of Chile was given a two-shot penalty Friday when he finished the first round of the U.S. Open for throwing his club on the sixth hole, the latest example of golf cracking down on bad behavior.
The additional two shots gave Niemann an 11 on the par-4 sixth round, a disastrous hole that began with two lost balls from tee shots that went well to the right in deep grass. He was even par for tournament going into
No. 6, his 15th hole of the round.
He finished the first round Friday morning at 78.
The USGA cited Rule 1.2b on “Code of Conduct.” Among incidents that fall under this category are unacceptable language and abuse of clubs or the course.
While the rule has always been in place, the USGA and all the other golf organizations have met in recent years to develop consistent guidelines for a conduct policy, applied separately by each of the organizations at their tournaments.
The Masters used it for the first time in April when Sergio Garcia was issued a warning after a bad drive on the par-5 second hole in the final round. He slammed his club into the turf twice and swung his club at a table holding a green cooler. That left the head of his driver dangling from the shaft.
The PGA Championship also posted the policy in the locker room at Aronimink last month.
The general policy the majors are using this year typically starts with a warning. The second violation is a two-shot penalty, and the third violation leads to disqualification.
There was no warning issued to Niemann because of the serious nature of his outburst.
The USGA policy for serious misconduct says if a player's behavior (or that of his caddie) is “so far removed from what is expected in the spirit of the game of golf,” officials can assess a two-shot penalty or disqualify the player while considering “the frequency, impact, intent and severity of the misconduct.”
The incident happened on Niemann's final hole Thursday evening of fog-delayed opening round. While video has not surfaced of the club throw, the ShotLink tracer shows his first two tee shots well to the right. The third shot was in high grass short of the fairway.
From 238 yards away, Niemann hacked the next shot into the fairway, but came up short of the green from 113 yards away. This is where the play-by-play indicated he was penalized. He got down in two strokes from there for a 9, which then turned into an 11.
Niemann, who left for LIV Golf after the 2022 season, won in South Korea last month for his eighth career victory in the rival league that began with Saudi Arabia funding but now faces an uncertain future with the Public Investment Fund no longer supporting it.
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