Joaquin Niemann was hit with a two-shot penalty at the US Open after throwing his club during the opening round. The Chilean golfer accepted that he violated a new rule but argued that the punishment was excessive.
Incident at Shinnecock Hills
Shinnecock Hills has long tested the patience of elite golfers, and this year's US Open was no exception. During Thursday's first round, Niemann struggled on the back nine, particularly on the sixth hole, where he lost two tee shots and battled to escape the native areas.
After finding the native area on his fifth shot, Niemann hurled his club approximately 50 yards and did not retrieve it. This occurred after he was denied relief from ants near his ball. The USGA subsequently imposed a two-shot penalty under new conduct regulations.
Niemann's Reaction
Speaking after his second round on Friday, Niemann admitted fault but criticized the severity of the penalty. "Yeah, I mean, I hit it two times out of bounds on the right, two bad swings. Then, yeah, got pretty frustrated. I'm not someone that likes to be in that behavior," he said.
Niemann, who bounced back to shoot a five-under 65 on Friday, standing three-over par for the tournament, added: "Yeah, that was a misbehave from my part. I felt like a little bit extra penalized with [a] two-shot penalty, but I think it is what it is. I think I'm going to learn from it."
Ants Incident
The 27-year-old explained that frustration built after a tough sequence. He requested relief from ants but was denied. "I saw a lot of ants there, and I was just asking the referee if they were fire ants, and like, he say, no. To be honest, I was pretty normal, pretty chill, because I knew I needed to keep going," Niemann said.
After hitting his layup, the frustration boiled over. "After that shot, I hit it, I lay up, and the whole frustration went inside me. I had my club in my hand, and I couldn't resist to throw it away. There was no people, obviously. No one there. I'm not proud of it, but sometimes, you know, all the expectation of trying to play well and things doesn't go your way, you get frustrated, and that was me there."
