U.S. Open 2026: Joaquin Niemann gets two-shot penalty for throwing club

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Joaquin Niemann was assessed a two-stroke penalty for throwing his golf club on the sixth hole Thursday at the U.S. Open in what was deemed a “serious misconduct.”

Niemann made a mess of the par-4 sixth, his 15th hole in Round 1 at Shinnecock Hills, hitting two tee shots out of bounds. When he finally put a ball in play it was in the native area and he was only able to advance his next shot 112 yards before play was halted for the day because of darkness.

When Niemann returned to complete his opening round early Friday, he was assessed the two-shot penalty and made an ’11′ on the hole for violating Rule 1.2b, which states “players are expected to play in the spirit of the game by acting with integrity, showing consideration to others and taking good care of the course.”

He finished his round with an 8-over 78.

The conduct policy was implemented this year by the major championships, although each organization applies the standard separately. Violations start with a warning followed by a two-shot penalty for a second violation and disqualification for a third incident. Niemann wasn’t issued a warning for the incident because of the egregious nature of the outburst.

Niemann, who was penalized two strokes for throwing his club during Thursday’s first round, followed the incident with a second-round, 5-under 65 to make the U.S. Open cut.