Joaquín Niemann has been assessed a two-stroke penalty for throwing his club on the 6th hole during Thursday’s opening round of the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
The 27-year-old Niemann finished 8-over par, which was helped by an 11 (including the penalty) on No. 6. According to the USGA, the club throw “was determined to be serious misconduct under Rule 1.2b,” which involves the Code of Player Conduct.
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Niemann, who joined LIV Golf in Aug. 2022, was having a decent day before he reached the sixth. He was even through 14 holes when it all fell apart. Two of his drives ended up out of bounds, only compounding his problems.
Joaquín Niemann 6th hole
(PGA Tour)
It was after he ended up short of the green on his approach shot that frustrations got the best of him and it took it out on his club. Niemann’s quintuple-bogey 9 was later adjusted to a septuple bogey following the penalty assessment.
As if Niemann’s time on the hole didn’t start bad enough, he had to wait until Friday morning to finish the hole after play was stopped due to darkness. When he returned, he was given the penalty and finished the hole.
The Chilean is in his seventh career U.S. Open. He missed the cut last year at Oakmont. His best finish came at Winged Foot in 2023 when he finished T23.
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