SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� Joaquin Niemann became the latest example of golf cracking down on bad behavior when the USGA penalized him two shots Friday for heaving his club while making a 9 鈥� which turned into an 11 鈥� late in the first round of the U.S. Open.
Perhaps as spectacular as his meltdown was the recovery.
About a half-hour after being informed of the penalty, Niemann birdied five of the first six holes of his second round and shot 65 to easily get inside the cut line. He would be the first player in 97 years to make 10 or worse on a hole and still make the cut.
鈥淎ll the frustration that came inside me and had my club in my hand, and I couldn鈥檛 resist to throw it away,鈥� Niemann said. 鈥淭here was no people, obviously. No one there. I鈥檓 not proud of it, but yeah, sometimes all the expectation of trying to play well and things doesn鈥檛 go your way, you get frustrated. And that was me there.鈥�
And then the USGA made him an example, skipping the warning and going straight to a two-shot penalty 鈥� the third step is disqualification 鈥� for what it cited as serious misconduct.
The USGA cited Rule 1.2b on 鈥淐ode of Conduct.鈥� 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.
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 frustration for Niemann was evident. He was at even par in the first round late Thursday afternoon when he hit two tee shots out of play down the right side of the sixth fairway. The fifth shot wasn’t much better, in the clumpy grass short of the fairway.
Niemann said he saw ants near his bad lie in the sandy oil and asked if they were fire ants, which could be considered a dangerous situation making him entitled to a drop. That was rejected. He hacked it out to the fairway, and then his sand wedge came up just short of the green.
That’s when the 27-year-old from Chile heaved his club.
The USGA policy for serious misconduct says if a player鈥檚 behavior (or that of his caddie) is 鈥渟o far removed from what is expected in the spirit of the game of golf,鈥� officials can assess a two-shot penalty or disqualify the player while considering 鈥渢he frequency, impact, intent and severity of the misconduct.鈥�
Niemann was informed of the penalty after he signed his card, and the two shots gave him a 78.
He had 37 minutes before his next tee time.
鈥淚鈥檓 not someone that likes to be in that behavior. I鈥檓 the first one to judge myself when I don鈥檛 behave on the golf course. Yeah, that was a misbehave from my part,鈥� Niemann said. 鈥淚 felt a little bit extra penalized with the two-shot penalty, but I think it is what it is.鈥�
He said he argued the penalty to no avail. Ultimately, it’s a judgment call among the committee.
鈥淚t is what it is. I think I’m going to learn from it,鈥� Niemann said. 鈥淚t definitely helped me a little bit to have a better round today.鈥�
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 Athletic spoke to a marshal on the sixth hole who said Niemann kicked the flag marking where his ball was in the rough, kicked the grass and reported that 鈥渋t was a pretty impressive throw, actually.鈥�
Tempers have long been part of golf, a most frustrating game. Rory McIlroy once heaved a 3-iron into the lake at Doral and last year flung an iron after a poor shot. Henrik Stenson and Erik van Rooyen are among those who have taken out their frustrations on tee markers.
Those typically result in fines by the tours.
But there has been a concerted effort in recent years to be more uniform with a conduct policy, and it has come into play twice in three majors this year.
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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