GOLF star Joaquin Niemann was handed a two-shot penalty at the US Open for throwing a golf club after breaking a new rule on the course.
The Chilean star, 27, lost his cool at the major during a difficult display that saw him hit two tee shots out of bounds on the par-four sixth hole.
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Joaquin Niemann was given a two-shot penalty for throwing his golf club at the US Open Credit: Getty
Niemann was frustrated after being refused a drop following a bad lie surrounded by fire ants Credit: AP
Niemann – who has previously made headlines over his temper – hit his next shot into thick grass before play was suspended just to bad light.
And to make matters worse, he later faced an awkward lie covered with FIRE ANTS.
He asked officials to take a drop but was refused – and responded by kicking a white flag before launching his sand wedge 50 yards away.
The golfer was not planning to return for the club until a police officer handed it to him.
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Niemann was later hit with a first ever two-stroke penalty for serious misconduct after a new code of conduct was introduced for the 2026 season.
It means officials can penalise players for poor behaviour on the course.
Players can either be warned or sanctioned on the scoreboards and Niemann was made an example of.
The next day he scored a quintuple bogey nine, which became a septuple bogey 11 after his penalty.
Niemann admitted he ‘misbehaved’ but felt the punishment was excessive Credit: Getty
Niemann wasn’t happy over the punishment and believes he was “extra penalised” after his second round.
But he admitted he “misbehaved” and vowed to learn from his outburst.
He said: “I hit it two times out of bounds then got pretty frustrated. 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’.
“They blew the horn [to suspend play for darkness] but after I hit that shot, all the frustration came inside me. 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.”
He added: “I finished my round this morning, signed my scorecard, and then a referee came up to me and said, ‘I need to talk to you’.
“I knew I had a misbehaviour but I feel like everybody had some, and it’s never going to be anything major like two-shot penalty.
“I feel like I wouldn’t be happy seeing players throwing clubs and behaving that way so, yeah, I agree. I’m the first one to judge myself when I don’t behave on the golf course – that was a misbehave from my part.
“I felt like a little bit extra penalised with a two-shot penalty, but it is what it is. I’m going to learn from it.”
The new misconduct rules were already used on Sergio Garcia at The Masters earlier this year after he smacked his club into the turf on two occasions and broke his driver.
Players should get a warning first before a two-shot penalty on the second offence, the USGA policy states.
But officials can hand out an immediate penalty if they feel a player’s behaviour is “so far removed from what is expected in the spirit of the game of golf”.
