Joaquin Niemann says he is “not proud” of being the first golfer penalised for breaking the new code of conduct introduced for major championships in 2026.
The Chilean was given a two-shot penalty by US Open officials on Friday, shortly after completing a fog-delayed first round.
The 27-year-old was punished for “serious misconduct” under rule 1.2b after throwing his sand wedge in frustration on the sixth hole after he twice hit tee shots out of bounds and then had an awkward lie.
That meant Niemann’s nine was upped to an 11 on the par-four hole and he eventually signed for an eight-over 78 before responding with a five-under 65 in the second round to sit just inside the projected cut line at three over par overall.
“I finished my round, signed my scorecard, and then a referee came up to me and said ‘I need to talk to you’,” Niemann said.
“I knew I had a misbehaviour but I feel like everybody had some and it’s never going to be anything major like a two-shot penalty, you know?
“They considered with the whole committee that it was a right decision to give me a two-shot penalty.
“I was trying to argue back but it’s their decision and I feel like I wouldn’t be happy seeing players throwing clubs and behaving that way so, yeah, I agree.”
Niemann had been at level par for his round before reaching the sixth hole and reportedly had to have his club delivered back to him by a police officer., external
“I hit it two times out of bounds then got pretty frustrated,” he added.
“I had a bad lie, I saw a lot of ants and I was just asking the referee if they were fire ants and he said ‘no’.
“I wasn’t angry asking him. I think they blew the horn (to suspend play for darkness) but after I hit that shot all the frustration came inside me and I 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.”
The code of conduct policy has been a major talking point this season with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and Spain’s Sergio Garcia both reprimanded for their behaviour at The Masters in April.
